Let Me Face My Fears
by SepticAbzies
Summary: With Sora and Riku 'preoccupied' with other things, it's up to Kairi to gather all seven lights, but even as things go well, everyone can't help but feel a foreboding sense of danger as Kairi's insecurities and past bring her closer to Xehanort's darkness. / Kairi-centric / KH3 Rewrite / Current World: Princess and the Frog, Next World: Twilight Town
1. Chapter 0-Prologue: Oblivion

A/N: Everything about KH3 was cool, aside from how they handled Kairi. So, here is how I feel KH3 should've been written. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Disney in any way, shape, or form! I only owe an OC who will appear later in the story._

_**!~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~3~~R~E~W~R~I~T~E~~!**_

**Let Me Face My Fears**

**Chapter 0/Prologue:** _Oblivion_

_**"The state of being unaware of what is happening around you."**_

**~Mysterious Tower~**

Sora's feet felt like lead. He'd been training with Riku all day, and he was exhausted. He was ready to hit his pillow and fall straight to sleep.

At least, he _would be_ if Xehanort wasn't still intending on making him another one of his vessels.

He was _tired_ of fighting it, and he was _tired_ of feeling such a way.

_Like a never ending cycle of suffering that was leading him deeper and deeper into darkness._

"Hey, Sora, nice job today. You've really improved."

Sora jumped at the sound of Riku's voice, and immediately he slapped a smile on. "Thanks, Riku. You were great too."

He _hated_ that every smile he put on his face these days was _fake_. But he didn't want the people counting on him to lead them know that he didn't feel as strong as they wanted him to be, that they _needed_ him to be.

"You should've seen me and Kairi," came Axel's voice. Or was Lea?

Technically, he wasn't a Nobody anymore, so it was _Lea_. But it was Lea's choice on what he wanted to be called, and he said he didn't care, so Sora took to calling him _Axel_. It's what Sora was used to.

"I saw you two," there was Mickey. "You both did very well."

"Thank you," Kairi said with a bright smile.

Today was the day Yen Sid had determined that Kairi and Axel were strong enough to move onto real missions instead of training in Merlin's timeless realm.

_Kairi..._what would he ever do without her? She was the reason he kept fighting the darkness. He didn't want to let her down.

_He couldn't._

She was the light in the sea of darkness he was currently experiencing. He couldn't lose her.

_He wouldn't._

"Hey, Sora," Lea spoke, a smile on his face. "Did you know that Kairi writes letters to you?"

Everyone else winced when Kairi gave Lea a solid elbow to the gut. She said through gritted teeth and an obviously fake smile, "They're _diary_ entries, Lea."

Sora chuckled at the exchange.

It felt good and liberating, which meant it was _real_.

Feeling sad that the moment was so short-lived, Sora replied, "Well, I'm exhausted. I'm going to bed. Good night."

"Good night, Sora!" Donald and Goofy joined in with everyone else.

"Sweet dreams," Kairi added as Sora walked to him.

Sora shot another what he hoped was a real smile back at her, before entering his room.

After closing the door, he leaned his back against it and slid down, fake smiles being replaced by real tears.

_'Sweet dreams'_, huh? _If only_, Kairi. If only that were possible...

He had a plan in mind, but he was still unsure about when to put it into action.

Maybe the right time was _now_.

Well, there was only one way to find out, but it was going to involve the one thing he didn't want to do.

_Go to sleep._

Sleep. Where the nightmares of darkness were. He'd have to get through all of that just to talk to the three people he absolutely _needed_ to protect at all costs.

But he sucked it up. He needed to this.

_For himself if not for anyone else._

So he lay down in his bed and reluctantly closed his eyes.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Sora's Heartscape~**

Sure enough, Sora suffered through the great ocean of darkness surrounding his heart before being swallowed up by it.

Sora was afraid to open his eyes. What if he woke up to a scene that scared him more than anything else? What if it was him being controlled by Xehanort to kill Riku and Kairi? What if–?

"_Breathe_, Sora," came a familiar voice. A voice belonging to a person he missed dearly despite them being practically the same person.

"Roxas," Sora breathed.

"Who else would it be, you dork?" came Roxas' typical sarcastic reply.

Despite him and Roxas being polar opposites, Sora found comfort in his Nobody's sarcasm and finally found the courage to open his eyes and let slip a smile – small, but real.

He was immediately greeted to a deep orange sky – a sunset typically found in Destiny Islands. And he knew he made it.

He made it into his heart. _The hard part was over_.

His lower half was resting on the trunk of that all familiar paopu fruit tree, while his head was resting comfortably in Roxas' lap. Roxas, in the meantime, was gently stroking Sora's hair, a technique that always soothed him ever since his mom first used it on him as a baby.

"You okay?" Roxas asked him, genuinely concerned.

"No," Sora replied, not feeling like lying for his Nobody's sake. Besides, he couldn't lie. He and Roxas shared a heart, which meant Roxas always knew when Sora was lying or hurting or feeling genuinely happy. "I'm tired." Physically, not really. Emotionally, _big yes_.

"You made it," came a female voice, drawing Sora's attention that he and Roxas weren't alone up here. Xion sounded and Ventus looked relieved as Xion continued, "For a moment, we were worried you wouldn't."

"Yeah, you were struggling," Roxas added.

"All the more reason to act now." Sora paused, the pain getting marginally better by the second, now that Roxas, Xion, and Ventus were here, helping him. "I hate this."

"We know," came Ventus' comforting voice. "The colors here aren't as bright as they used to be."

They knew, and they understood. It was a small thing to note, but to Sora, it was a big deal. It was something he took solace in.

Sora paused again before quietly saying, "I'm sorry."

"Why?" Roxas asked. There was no malice behind it. It was an honest question.

"You guys are suffering because of me," came Sora's reply.

"Don't beat yourself up over this," Xion said. "It's not your fault. Xehanort's the one taunting you."

"But he's not taunting anymore," Ventus warned them. "He's already made his move."

"I agree with Ven," Sora said. "The _nightmare_ was him taunting me. _This_ is real."

"Have you found a Plan B yet?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah, actually. I have," Sora paused again as he finally found the courage to sit up. "Thank you, you guys, for fighting so hard to protect my heart. But it's getting worse, and I'm not sure how much longer I can fight it off." A thought suddenly came to him. Maybe sealing away his heart wasn't the right answer, but rather... "You guys don't mind if we take a little vacation from this place, do you?"

"We have no choice but to follow you, Sora. We are you," Roxas replied.

"If all of this works out in the end," Sora said as he got off his perch on the tree branch, "you guys will each be your own person."

"You sure?" Xion's voice sounded hopeful.

"I promise," Sora vowed. "And there's only one person I trust with this."

"Who do you have in mind?" Ventus asked.

"A little change of scenery," Sora replied, "a place where the sun never sets." A strong wave of affection immediately went through him. Thinking of her in that moment felt extremely liberating.

She was one the few people in the entire known universe that darkness could never touch. And he was comforted by that fact. It would give him enough time to build up his own inner strength to keep fighting off the darkness until he was ready.

_But..._

Roxas noticed his hesitation, and took action right away, "What's wrong?"

"I-..." Sora found the courage to speak. "I'm not sure how this will affect her..."

"Sora," Ventus was the one who spoke, "you've kept all three of us safe for this long, so whoever you have in mind, we'll do everything in our power to protect her."

Sora smiled him, all three of them – small, but real. "Thanks, Ven, all three of you." He glanced back up at the sunset. "Sorry, Kairi. It's about to get a little crowded, but I believe in you."

He materialized his Keyblade and used it to unlock his Station of Awakening.

Then, he just...let his soul go.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Kairi's Heartscape~**

Kairi dreamed of Radiant Garden, of all the flowers she loved to pick, of the blue haired lady that once saved her from monsters, of her grandmother that she loved so much and hadn't seen since the fateful day when Radiant Garden was no longer Radiant Garden.

_"You know she's not your real grandma, right?"_ She remembered one of the mean boys saying once. _"You're adopted!"_

Little Kairi didn't fight back. She simply bowed her head to hide her tears, and calmly replying with, _"She's all I have."_

She vaguely remembered Xehanort – Ansem's apprentice – keeping her as a test subject, trying to turn her into a heartless. She remembered being in that giant test tube one moment, blacking out, and when she came to, she first met Riku and Sora on the shores of the Destiny Islands.

Kairi had a fleeting feeling that the moment she left Radiant Garden is the exact moment her home became Hollow Bastion.

It was all her fault for leaving everyone behind to suffer the darkness while she enjoyed the light and safety that was the Destiny Islands.

_Why was she chosen to survive?_

Grandma, Lea, Isa, Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, Ienzo – she knew them all. She knew everyone.

Suddenly, the foreboding Hollow Bastion evaporated into the beautiful Destiny Islands.

And immediately Kairi was filled with peace. She would always feel at home here.

"Kairi!"

The said girl turned around when she heard his voice.

_Sora._

And he sounded scared. He never sounded so scared in his life.

Thunder sounded and the crack of lightning flashed through the sky as the winds picked up and the skies darkened.

The exact same one that swept away Radiant Garden.

Kairi couldn't stand to lose anyone else. She wouldn't. Least of all Sora.

Sora was way too important to her.

"Sora!"

Kairi opened up her arms when Sora was sent flying towards her by the storm winds.

When he finally reached her, she closed her arms around, but she didn't catch him.

He just went right through her.

No, no, no, no, no!

Not Sora!

Kairi hastily turned around, but Sora was nowhere in sight.

"SORA?!" She was utterly terrified.

This was not happening! She could not lose Sora! She could not lose anyone!

_It was like she was reliving the destruction of Radiant Garden all over again!_

She turned around when she felt a dark presence behind her, and she was immediately faced with a dark version of herself. She would have felt confused, but she didn't. Instead, she felt anger and an extreme instinct to protect her friends.

She materialized her Keyblade, and made to attack her dark self, but was terrified to realize that her body wouldn't respond. Instead, she could only helpless watch as her body turned her towards little Riku and little Sora playing on the beach, without a care in the world. Against her will, she raised her sword to attack them.

Quickly, and finally, she regained control of her body, at least enough to look up to see who was forcing her to attack her defenseless friends.

_Her best friend._

Why?! Why was her best friend forcing her to do this?!

She felt angry tears come to her eyes as she forced her wrist – the one that was armed with her Keyblade – out of their grip and instead felt anger, sorrow, and betrayed as she turned her Keyblade on them – her own best friend.

_**"Sorry, Kairi,"**_ she snapped out of it when she heard Sora's disembodied voice around her, _**"but this is something I have to do."**_

Kairi saw her world go black as she was swept up by darkness.

Sora, meanwhile, awoke to a place that was bright and filled with flowers. It was a beautiful place, and Sora knew that this place was what Kairi considered home – same as him and the Destiny Islands.

"Welcome," came a calm, familiar, feminine voice.

He, Roxas, Xion, and Ventus turned to the voice, and immediately Roxas choked up at whom they saw, "N-Namine?"

Namine gently smiled at them, after looking up from her sketchbook, "I was notified of your presence when Kairi started experiencing memories that weren't her own."

Sora sheepishly smiled, "Sorry. It was my idea."

Namine's gentle smile never wavered, "You left because you needed to escape the darkness plaguing your heart." Sora looked at her with fondness and gratefulness that he didn't have to explain all this to Namine. "Don't worry. Kairi's heart cannot be tainted by darkness, so you're safe here for now."

As Ventus rubbed circles into the small of Sora's back, Sora asked, "Namine, tell me the truth. How is us being here effecting Kairi?"

Namine's smile wavered a bit, "Aside from the memories, nothing really." Sora wasn't convinced. The blonde artist sounded too concerned.

"Nami," Roxas spoke up, and he and Namine met eyes.

"I'm not sure," Namine finally spoke up, finally telling the truth. "This hasn't happened to her before."

Xion smiled, trying to cheer everyone up, "Don't worry. Everything will be fine. After all, Sora, you said Kairi was the only person you trusted with this."

"Yeah..."

"Then, we'll protect her from the things she can't defend herself from," Xion continued.

Sora finally formed a smile, small but determined. "Yeah."

He would protect Kairi's heart from any darkness that came with him. He wouldn't fail.

_He couldn't._

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Mysterious Tower~**

Kairi woke up in her bed in a cold sweat, the sun shining through the window.

It was morning _already_?!

But she didn't care. She was shaken up the nightmare she just had. Sora slipping away from her, facing her dark self – which was confusing in and of itself – and being controlled by her best friend to do something she didn't want to do.

Kairi held a shaky hand up to her face, trying to calm her anxiety. "What did all that _mean_?"

She was brought out of her reverie by a knock at her door, before it opened, revealing Riku.

"What's wrong?" Kairi asked, wondering if Riku heard her thrashing around during her nightmare – because she's done that before.

"Sora," he breathed. "He's awake but he's not responding."

_No, no, no, no, no! She couldn't lose Sora!_

Worried, Kairi frantically shoved the covers off of her, not caring that she was still in her pajamas, and ran out after Riku, who lead her to Sora's room.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Mysterious Tower~**

About three and a half hours later, Lea had been woken up by the three fairies and told to meet Master Yen Sid in his office.

Now, here he was, but as he entered the room, he quickly took note of Kairi, Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy already there, as well as, and especially, their solemn expressions.

But he asked, "Where's Sora?"

"Well, you see," Mickey was the one who responded, "That's kinda why we're here. Something's wrong."

"What happened?" Lea asked.

Master Yen Sid revealed, "Sora is missing. Or rather, his _heart_ is. The way he is now is an empty shell."

Riku swallowed an obvious lump in his throat, and said, "Master, we already told you that we understand what he did. We just don't understand why."

Kairi watched as Yen Sid paused before answering, "It's rather difficult to know for certain, but it's very possible that his heart escaped to a safer place in order to avoid the darkness still plaguing it."

Kairi was caught off-guard by Riku's outrage, despite her expecting it – because she already knew. "What?! I thought we had prevented that! He was fine!"

Riku calmed down when Kairi placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. He shot her a grateful look, as she asked, "What can we do to help, Master? Sora's heart has to be somewhere."

"Indeed," Yen Sid replied. "It is imperative that we find Sora's heart before Xehanort does. Right now, his body is surrounded by Xehanort's darkness, and it won't be long before Xehanort has control over it. If we fail, Sora will be completely under his control." He paused. "But there are two other tasks that are top priority. We must gather our forces to fight Xehanort's, as well as secure the six New Lights."

"New Lights?" Donald repeated, confused.

"With the exception of Kairi," Yen Sid explained, "the previous Princesses of Heart have passed on their Power to new maidens after sensing no escape from the darkness plaguing them at the time. We must find them and ensure their safety as soon as possible."

Donald pointed out, "Well, there's six of us and three missions. That's two per task."

"True," Goofy said. "We're fine with anything, Master, but we'll secure the Princesses."

"Yeah," Donald said. "We already have experience with doing that."

"I promised to free Aqua from the Realm of Darkness," Riku reminded them.

Kairi was about to speak up, but Yen Sid beat her to it, "Very well. Riku and Mickey, you shall gather our allies. Donald and Goofy, you shall secure the Princesses. Lea and Kairi, you two shall search for Sora's heart."

"Wait, what?" Kairi was not on board with this. Where was the importance of _her_ opinion? Everyone else got to put their two cents in. But not her or Lea?

She and Lea shared a rather betrayed glance with each other, as the other four confirmed their orders, "Right!"

"Hold on!" Kairi yelled out.

_And she hated that she had to raise her voice in order to be noticed._

"Something wrong, Kairi?" Yen Sid asked.

"Yes," Kairi said. "Mine and Lea's thoughts and feelings were just ignored. I don't know about Lea, but that does not sit well with me."

"Gawrsh, sorry, Kairi," Goofy spoke up. "We just thought _you_ wanted to look for Sora."

"Don't get me wrong," she explained. "I do, but I know that protecting the light is important than how I feel. Let _me_ secure the Princesses. I swear I won't let you down."

"That is a very dangerous path, Kairi, and we cannot afford to _lose_ you," Yen Sid defended his choice.

Kairi was _tired_ of being treated like a damsel in distress. She had agreed to Keyblade training to learn how to fight, so she could protect Sora and Riku when the time came, and _win_. So Yen Sid's comment just now _really_ pissed her off.

But instead of letting her red-headed temper flare, she was calm as she replied, "You won't, because Lea will be with me, and I trust him." She turned back to Lea for support, and he nodded. She smiled, grateful that she did have his support, as she turned back around and continued, "Besides, Lea and I are the best people for the job, and you all know it."

"She's got a point," Riku said. Kairi glanced at him, surprised but grateful that Riku was on her side. "Kairi is a Princess of Heart, so she knows how to find and talk to the other Princesses, and Axel was an assassin for the Organization, so he knows what he's up against."

After a short silence, Yen Sid nodded, "Very well." Kairi breathed a sigh of relief. "Lea and Kairi, you two will secure the Princesses. Donald and Goofy, you two will go out and search for Sora's heart."

"Yes, sir!"

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

The six were outside now, waiting for the train that would take them to Chip and Dale's lab, where the three duos would each get their own Gummi Ship.

While they waited, Kairi pulled Riku off to the side, "Riku, thanks for supporting me earlier."

Riku shot her a classic Riku smile, "No problem, Kairi. But why was that so important to you?"

Kairi solemnly hung her head as she answered, "Because I'm tired of not being taken seriously. I need to prove that I can be someone who doesn't need saving all the time."

"Alright," he accepted her reasoning, but asked, "but prove to who?"

"Myself."

"Yeah, I figured," Kairi was grateful that Riku wasn't at all surprised at this. Almost as though he already knew she would say that. "Well, good luck. If you ever need me for _anything_, though, call me on the Gummiphone."

Kairi smiled, "I will. Same goes for _you_ too." Riku chuckled. "And, Riku? Don't worry. We'll put Sora back together in no time."

"Yeah, and then I can rag on him about him hiding something as serious as being plagued by darkness from us," Riku said, as he and Mickey walked toward the train that just arrived.

After taking a deep breath to ease herself, Kairi made to follow them, Donald, and Goofy, but paused when Lea placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't be scared. We got this," he said. "And thanks. You're not the only one who has something to prove."

_Lea needed to prove that he was loyal to the light._

Kairi nodded, before the two stepped on the train after the other four.

_**!~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~3~~R~E~W~R~I~T~E~~!**_

A/N: While I am a big fan of Kingdom Hearts, I just recently got into the fandom. So if I get anything wrong, I'm sorry. Please, no flaming. Instead, just politely inform me in a PM or a review, so I can correct any mistake I make.

Also, _**Kairi's nightmare:**_her best friend can be anyone you want it to be. I left it open because her best friend could be anyone.


	2. Chapter 1: Metanoia

A/N: Here's the next chapter. First world: Tangled!

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Disney in any way, shape, or form! I only owe an OC who will appear later in the story._

**Note:** I changed the cover of this story _**(see above)**_. It's what Kairi looks like in this story.

_**!~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~3~~R~E~W~R~I~T~E~~!**_

**Let Me Face My Fears**

**Chapter 1:** _Metanoia_

_**"The journey of changing one's mind, heart, self, or way of life."**_

**~Kingdom of Corona~**

_"Why can't I go outside?"_

_"The outside world is a dangerous place, filled with horrible, selfish people. You must stay here, where you're safe. Do you understand, Flower?"_

_"Yes, Mommy."_

A young teenage girl with very long blonde hair sat by her window one night. Suddenly, the dark night sky was lit up with millions of golden lights.

And that's when she knew. She was now 17 years old:

"Every year, on my birthday, those lights appear, and _**only**_ on my birthday. Mother calls them stars, but I know that's not true. I know they're something else. And, somehow, I can't help but think that...they're meant for me. I need to see them, and not just from my window. In person. I have to know what they are."

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Lanes Between~**

Goofy and Donald sat in their Gummi Ship, one of the three that Chip and Dale had revved up an hour prior to this moment.

Well, Donald sat, and Goofy stood next to Donald's chair. There was one empty seat, and it was usually filled by Sora – the person whose heart the duo was assigned to locate.

The atmosphere was solemn as the two brainstormed, floating in the dark atmosphere of the world between worlds.

"Where to first?" Goofy asked.

"Let's see," Donald pondered. "If I were Sora's heart, where would I be hiding?"

Goofy said the first thing that came to his mind, "At home. Y'know the old phrase: home is where the heart is."

Donald questioned his companion, "Wouldn't that be the first place Xehanort would look?"

"All the more reason to get there first."

Donald immediately agreed with that. Goofy did have a point.

After all, it was only a matter of time before Xehanort had control over Sora's body. If the old coot got Sora's heart too, then Sora was beyond saving.

That's how the duo's first destination became the place that Sora called home: the Destiny Islands.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Kingdom of Corona~**

Kairi and Lea had no idea where they were, but they did know they were in a forest, with lush, green trees that were clearly ancient. There were no clouds in the sky and the sun was bright and shining without remorse.

"Beautiful day, huh?" Lea asked.

Kairi replied, "Yeah, it'd be perfect for a picnic. Isn't that right, Pluto?" She bent over to pet the dog that was walking in between them. Pluto barked in happiness.

"Fine with me," Lea said. "As long as we can trade in the Heartless for sea salt ice cream."

"_'Sea salt ice cream'_?"

"Yeah."

"I've heard of it, but I haven't tried it. Is it any good?" Kairi asked.

"I think so, but it's not the ice cream that's important to me. It's the memories that go with them." Kairi instantly took notice of how sad Lea looked and sounded, so she took up the initiative to cheer him up.

"Lea...there is such a thing as making new memories, y'know."

"I know," Lea replied, "but we both know that letting go of the past isn't something somebody can do at the drop of a hat."

The two were obviously thinking of the same thing: the day Radiant Garden became Hollow Bastion. Lea was right. Even after ten years, Kairi still had nightmares about it, a side effect of something Master Yen Sid called _'survivor's guilt'_.

Sora and Riku didn't know about it, and she planned on keeping it that way.

Lea had been turned into a Nobody, along with his friend Isa, as well as many others, while others were turned into heartless. Kairi, on the other hand, was merely sent to the Destiny Islands, far away from harm and safe in the strong, yet gentle hands of Sora and Riku.

She wouldn't give up Sora and Riku for anything, but there were many times where she wished she could do something more to save her neighbors from their fates.

_Why did she have to be so lucky? Why couldn't it have been her?!_

Pluto broke the tension with a bark – a bark of warning – just as a man with brown hair, a green vest, and a satchel appeared in front of them. He was running towards them, as if he were being chased.

And he was being chased. By Heartless.

Puffball heartless, to be exact.

"HELP!" The man cried out once he got closer to them.

Immediately, Lea and Kairi produced their Keyblades. As the man ran past them and took a moment to breathe by leaning against a boulder behind them.

Kairi said, "Don't worry. You go find a place to hide. We'll take care of them."

"Great! You have my thanks!" the man said, before mumbling, "And that horse chasing me was enough..."

"What was that?" The man was startled when Lea suddenly spoke up.

The man quickly said, "Nothing! Nothing. I was just...finding a place to hide."

He then turned around slowly before quickly running away.

Lea turned to Kairi, "Princess? I think that guy was a thief."

Kairi brushed it off, "Let him be, Pyromaniac. He's not our primary concern. Let's send these guys packing first."

"Right."

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Kairi's Heartscape~**

Sora had never seen Kairi fight before, but the way she handled her Destiny's Embrace was flawless. She was graceful yet delivered swift, powerful strikes, just like the sea, her namesake.

After Kairi cast a Curaga on Axel – or Lea, as she called him – Sora sighed. Kairi was just...so amazing.

"You okay over there, Sora?" Roxas asked, as he was sitting on the bench next to Namine, watching her draw Sora's latest memories – of the five of them resting within Kairi's heart.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sora replied, placing his hands behind his head. "It's just relieving to know that Kairi can handle herself. Even though..."

"Even though?" Xion gently urged to continue his thought.

"Even though," Sora continued, "I'm still worried about what other enemies she'll encounter. There are worse creatures of darkness than heartless out there."

"She'll be fine," Namine reassured him. "After all, worst case scenario, they have to face five Keyblade wielders taking shelter inside her heart."

"Yeah!" The other four agreed.

Roxas paused, however, and took quick note of what Namine said.

Sora had Kingdom Key, Roxas had Oathkeeper and Oblivion, Ventus had Wayward Wind, and Xion had just produced her own Keyblade, called Remembrance, with a thalassa shell as her charm.

That was four. Who was the fifth? She wasn't talking about Kairi.

_That could only mean..._

"Wait, five?" Roxas spoke up, bringing everyone's attention to him. "Namine, you have a Keyblade?"

The other three turned to Namine with varying degrees of shock and excitement, as Namine shyly nodded.

"Congratulations!" Sora immediately spoke up. "You're officially one of us now!"

"Thank you," Namine quietly replied, her smile genuine.

"What's your Keyblade called?" Xion asked.

Namine materialized a white-colored Keyblade, with a miniature sketchbook as the charm. "Chain of Memories."

Xion immediately fawned over it. "Wow! It's so pretty!"

"Thank you."

"Nami," Roxas spoke up, "how did you get a Keyblade?"

"I _**am**_ Kairi's Nobody," Namine replied. "Obviously, she and I would share similar abilities."

"Who gave _**Kairi**_ a Keyblade, though?" Ventus asked, before explaining, "When someone gets a Keyblade, it's because a Keyblade wielder passed their power onto them. It happened between Sora and me, and Terra and Riku."

In response, Namine simply de-materialized her Keyblade and opened her sketchbook to a page, which contained an illustration of little Kairi giving flowers to a woman with blue hair.

"Aqua!" Ventus gasped, before quickly sobering up. "Though it does make sense."

Namine nodded before closing her sketchbook. The quintet's attention was brought back to the fight when Kairi called out one of Axel's names.

"Lea!" Axel looked back at her, preparing to bust her out of trouble. "They're plant-based! Which means they're weak to fire!"

In response to this, Axel merely smirked, "Watch your head, Princess."

And Kairi ducked as Axel produced a storm of flames that wiped out the remaining heartless.

And they didn't come back.

Roxas and Xion clapped for the show Axel just gave with his Flame Liberator.

"Wow," Sora said. "They're _**both**_ awesome."

The others nodded in agreement.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Kingdom of Corona~**

Flynn slowly woke up to find himself in a bind, quite literally. "Huh? Is this hair?" He asked, as he struggled.

A female voice spoke from the shadows, "Struggling is pointless."

"Huh?"

"I know why you're here," the voice continued. "And I'm not afraid of you."

"What?" Flynn was confused beyond belief.

The owner of the voice finally emerged from the shadows, revealing a small girl with long blonde hair, hair that was currently keeping him tied up. Wielding a frying pan, she asked, "Who are you, and how did you find me?"

"Umm..."

"Who are you?" The girl repeated, her voice a little harder this time. "And how did you find me?"

"Mm-hmm," Flynn finally replied. "I know not who you are, nor how I came to find you, but may I just say..." He then put on a flirty face. "Hi. How ya doin'? The name's Flynn Rider. How's your day goin'? Huh?"

The girl scowled and merely put her frying pan in his face. "Who else knows my location, Flynn Rider?"

"Alright, Blondie–"

The girl cut him off, "Rapunzel."

"Gesundheit," Flynn replied. "Here's the deal. I was in a situation, gallivanting through the forest. I came across your tower and..." He realized that he was missing something, "Oh no...where is my satchel?"

"I've hidden it," Rapunzel said, with a smile. "Somewhere you'll never find it. So, what do you want with my hair? To cut it?"

"What?"

"Sell it?"

"No!" Flynn cried, before explaining, "Listen, the only thing I want to do with your hair is to get out of it. Literally."

"Wait," Rapunzel paused, rethinking her choices, "you don't want my hair?"

"Why on earth would I want your hair?" Flynn asked. "Look, I was being chased, I saw a tower, I climbed it, end of story."

Rapunzel realized something. "You're...telling the truth...?"

"Yes."

The chameleon on Rapunzel's shoulder lowered his eyes at Flynn, obviously distrusting him, before pointing at Rapunzel to go off to the side with his tail. Rapunzel followed the motion.

While the two were having their verbally one-sided conversation, Flynn tried and failed to get out of his predicament.

Rapunzel turned back to him, "Okay, Flynn Rider, I'm prepared to offer you a deal."

"Deal?"

"Look this way," Rapunzel used her long hair to turn his chair to a wall covered by curtains, but the action made Flynn fall flat on his face. Rapunzel opened the curtains, just enough to show the mural of the lights she loved painting. "Do you know what these are?"

"You mean the lantern thing they do for the princess?" Flynn asked.

"Lanterns?" Rapunzel smiled. "I knew they weren't stars." She shook it off, continuing with her explanation, "Well, tomorrow evening, they will light the night sky with these lanterns. You will act as my guide, take me to these lanterns, and return me home safely. Then, and only then, will I return your satchel to you. That is my deal."

"Yeah, no can do," Flynn finally managed to get off his face and onto his side. "Unfortunately, the kingdom and I aren't exactly _'simpatico'_ at the moment. So I won't be taking you anywhere."

The chameleon motioned to Rapunzel to toughen up, by punching his fist in his hands. So Rapunzel used her hair to stand Flynn up and bring him closer and closer to her.

"Something brought you here, Flynn Rider. Call it what you will: fate, destiny..."

"A horse," Flynn said.

"So I have made the decision to trust you."

"A horrible decision, really."

"But trust me when I tell you this." Rapunzel tugged on her hair, causing Flynn to fall forward, but she caught the chair in time, and Flynn immediately noticed the two were face to face. "You can tear this tower apart brick by brick, but without my help, you will never find your precious satchel."

"Hmm-mm, let me get this straight. I take you to see the lanterns, bring you back home, and you'll give me back my satchel?"

"I promise." Flynn didn't look convinced. "And when I promise something, I never, ever break that promise." He stared at her in further disbelief. "Ever."

Flynn looked down at the chameleon, who nodded.

Flynn took to his thoughts, _'What do I do? If I help her, I get my satchel back, but then those monsters might come back...'_ His mind went to the two redheads with weirdly shaped swords, the two that allowed him to come here in the first place. _'Hmm...what about those two weirdly dressed people and their dog? They could take care of the monsters, no problem!'_

Rapunzel was still waiting for his answer.

"Fine, I'll take you to see the lanterns," Flynn said, and Rapunzel smiled. "On the one condition that you let my sidekicks come along too."

Rapunzel's smile fell into a confused frown, "Sidekicks?"

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Lea and Kairi dusted themselves off after the fight. For their first fight, the two didn't do so bad, complete with very little injuries, which were minor more than anything, nothing a Hi-Potion couldn't fix.

"Nice job there, Princess," Lea's nickname for her made her smile.

"Thank you, Pyromaniac," Kairi returned the favor with her own nickname for him. "Now, let's find that guy and see if he's okay."

"And figure out what the heartless want with him."

"Yeah, let's go."

The two took off in the direction the guy they saved went in, but they didn't go very far. They just ran into a stone wall covered with vines and plants.

"Now what?" Lea spoke what was on both of their minds. "He can't have gone far. It's a dead end."

Kairi immediately noticed Pluto sniffing around. "Pluto?" She asked. "What is it, boy?"

In response, Pluto pointed an ear in the direction the guy went – towards the wall. Lea and Kairi both were weary of this, until Pluto ran through the wall of vines, revealing that the dead end was not a dead end at all.

_But a secret passage._

Kairi turned to Lea, "Always trust the dog," before following Pluto.

Lea called as he raced after the two, "Easy for you to say! The dog _**likes**_ you!"

After going through the tunnel, Pluto led the two Keyblade wielders to an amazing sight.

It was a valley, with tons of flowers surrounding a beautifully built tower. It was a sight to behold, and it immediately reminded Kairi of her favorite place in Radiant Garden: the courtyard, where all the flowers grew.

The trio slowly walked closer to the tower, because they were brought here for a reason, and Kairi had a feeling that the tower had something to do with that reason.

Near a river, they found the guy, but they also found a girl with extremely long blonde hair, who seemed happy one moment and sad and depressed the next. By the time the trio reached them, the girl was sobbing against a boulder.

Feeling her heart go out to the girl, and feeling obligated to cheer her up, Kairi gently spoke up, "Hey, there. You seem to be at war with yourself. Are you okay?"

"W-What?" The girl looked up, but when she saw strangers standing there, she immediately stood up, her frying pan in hand, "W-Who are you?!"

The guy they saved automatically stepped in between them, "Woah, take it easy there. Remember the sidekicks I mentioned? This is them."

"Excuse me?" Lea blinked. "_'Sidekicks'_?"

The guy turned to Lea and Kairi, "Please go along with it. She wants to see the lanterns tomorrow, and me being a nice guy, I've decided to help her. But those monsters might come back, and when they do, we don't stand a chance. But if we have you two, then we can all continue about our merry way."

Lea motioned to the guy to give him and Kairi a moment, and he immediately pulled Kairi to the side, and asked, "What do you think? We have to figure out why the Gummi Ship brought us here. We can't just run errands for some guy just because he made up a story that he wants to be true."

Kairi paused, however, and brought up a point Lea hadn't considered: "...You mean you can't feel it?"

"Feel what?" Lea asked.

Kairi merely gave him a look that was hard to describe – between composed, confused, and amused, "The light coming from the girl?"

Lea paused, looking back at the girl with the long blonde hair, finally feeling her light. "Her light...is a lot like yours."

Kairi corrected him, "_**Exactly**_ like mine. Which means..."

Lea quickly connected the dots, "...She's one of the New Lights." Kairi nodded, a gentle smile on her face. "So we _**have**_ to go with them." Kairi nodded again, making Lea sigh. "Fine. But I refuse to be called a _'sidekick'_." He then turned to the two strangers waiting for them. "Alright. We'll go with you. On the one condition that you call us _'bodyguards'_, instead of _'sidekicks'_."

The guy found their 'one condition' rather humorous, "Really?"

Kairi shrugged at her partner's antics, "It _**is**_ more accurate." She then turned to her fellow Princess of Heart. "I'm Kairi."

"Lea. Get it memorized."

Kairi motioned to their dog companion, "And this is Pluto." Said dog saluted with his ear.

The girl smiled brightly, "Pleasure to meet you, Kairi, Lea, and Pluto. I am Rapunzel." She motioned to the chameleon that sat on her shoulder, "And this is Pascal."

"Flynn Rider, if anyone was curious," the guy spoke up.

Lea quickly spoke up, "Trust me, no one cares." He turned to Rapunzel, "So what's your civil war about?"

Rapunzel's smile fell but she found it easy to talk to Lea and Kairi, so she spilled, "Tomorrow's my 18th birthday. All I asked Mother for as a gift was to see those lanterns, but she refused. She said it was to protect me, but she just doesn't understand that this is something I _**have**_ to do. So, I sent her away on a three day journey, so I could sneak out and see the lanterns."

"Ah, I see now," Flynn said. "Overprotective mother, forbidden road trip. I mean, this is serious stuff, but let me ease your conscience. This is part of growing up. A little rebellion, a little adventure – that's good. Healthy even!"

"You think?" Rapunzel asked.

Kairi was quick to speak up, "Don't listen to him." Kairi buckled up and told the girl the truth. "Yes, this would probably break your mother's heart, but you said it yourself that seeing those lanterns is something you have to do. Right?"

Rapunzel looked to Pascal, who nodded, and she turned back to Kairi. "Right."

"I rest my case," was all Kairi said.

There was a rustling sound in the nearby thicket, and the group immediately jumped into action, as Lea and Kairi produced their Keyblades, and Pluto took a defensive stance, growling.

Rapunzel leapt onto Flynn's back, gasping, "Is it ruffians? Thugs? Have they come for me?"

A rabbit hopped out, and Lea and Kairi breathed a sigh of relief, de-materializing the Keyblades.

"Stay calm," Flynn sarcastically told Rapunzel, who slowly felt comfortable with getting off of Flynn's back. "It can probably smell fear."

"Oh, huh, sorry," Rapunzel sheepishly smiled. "Guess I'm just a little bit...jumpy."

"It's okay," Kairi gently told her. "I know how you feel. Being forced out of my home and immediately coming face to face with the real world. But it's not a bad thing. Because in the end, you come back home knowing way more than when you left. Trust me, it's worth it."

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Their strange-looking group had quickly become friends in such a short time. Kairi and Rapunzel were chatting a mile-a-minute, with Lea and Flynn cutting in whenever they could, even though Lea's interjections were natural and comfortable, while Flynn's weren't. Meanwhile, Pascal sat comfortably on top of Pluto's head, content with how things were turning out so far.

The six stumbled on a clearing, where they found what looked like a giant dandelion.

"Look!" Rapunzel cried out in happy curiosity. "What is that? It's so fluffy!"

"Be careful," Lea warned. "It doesn't look natural."

But as soon as Rapunzel touched it, the giant dandelion exploded into a lot of smaller dandelions. Rapunzel was in awe at the sight, until all the dandelions turned into Puffball heartless, and one revealed itself as the Chief Puff.

Rapunzel stumbled backwards. Lea and Kairi immediately ran forward, producing their Keyblades on the way.

"Watch out, guys!" Kairi called back to Flynn and Rapunzel.

"W-What are those?" Rapunzel asked.

"They're called Heartless," Lea explained. "Be careful."

Rapunzel's eyes narrowed in determination, before she grabbed her hair and ran forward, standing next to Kairi, her frying pan in hand.

"Rapunzel!" The other three called out.

"It's okay," Rapunzel calmly said. "I'm not afraid to face them."

Kairi simply smiled at her, before facing back towards the heartless.

"Princess?" Lea asked.

"Don't worry, Pyromaniac," Kairi replied. "Let her fight. It's obvious that she has something to prove, too."

And the look in his eyes told her that he understood what she meant. He let out a small smirk before facing back towards their enemies.

Flynn took to hiding, but Pluto and Pascal kept their eyes on him, to ensure that he didn't run away.

Rapunzel used her frying pan, and Kairi her Keyblade to beat on the Puffballs, while Lea used his fire on the Chief Puff.

This was the first time Lea felt comfortable fighting enemies since he met Roxas. Kairi was graceful, just like the ocean, and Rapunzel, however unexperienced she was in fighting, could obviously handle herself. The two ladies were very similar, bright, sensitive, and very empathic, but also very spunky and stubborn, as well as tougher than they looked, which allowed them both to use people underestimating them to their advantage. For the first time in a long time, the smile on Lea's face was real.

After Lea used his old chakrams to destroy the Chief Puff, the trio reunited with Flynn, Pascal, and Pluto.

"Great job, Rapunzel," Kairi said.

"You were pretty good for your first fight," Lea said. "Probably be best if we avoid ruffians and thugs, though."

Rapunzel smiled at the praise, and agreed with Lea's sentiment, "Uh-huh, yeah, that'd probably be best."

Flynn paused, before asking, "Are you guys hungry? I know a great place for lunch."

"Oh. Where?" Rapunzel asked.

Flynn smiled, "Oh don't you worry. You'll know it when you smell it."

Lea and Kairi shared an amused look before following them.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Mother Gothel looked around the tower frantically. _Where was Rapunzel?!_

A shine in her eyes brought her attention to something hidden under the stairs. The woman took out Flynn's satchel and looked at the crown he had stolen, along with a wanted poster, showing Flynn's face with his badly-drawn nose.

Her face lowered into a death glare, as she brought out a knife from her pocket.

"Missing someone?"

Mother Gothel was immediately freaked out at the voice that seemingly came from nowhere. "Who's there?!"

Out of the darkness, literally, a man in a black coat with pink hair appeared. "She's such a precious gift," the man slowly closer and closer to her. "Allow me to assist you in getting her back."

Mother Gothel's eyes were filled with fear as the man got closer and closer, and they slowly turned pink.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Flynn looked around the forest, "I know it's around here somewhere." He found it, and pointed everyone's attention to the cottage in the forest they were coming upon. "Ah, there it is, the Snuggly Duckling. Don't worry, a very quaint place, perfect for you two ladies. Don't want you scaring and giving up on this whole endeavor, now do we?"

"Well, I do like duckling," Rapunzel said with a smile.

"Yay!" Flynn replied sarcastically, copying Rapunzel's motion.

It was at this moment that the group stumbled upon across another weird-looking flower. The group immediately stopped upon seeing it.

"Okay," Flynn said. "That's suspicious."

"Rapunzel..." Kairi warned.

"Don't worry, Kairi," Rapunzel smiled at her. "I know to be careful around flowers now."

"Whatever it is, it's not normal." Lea volunteered, "I'll take a look."

"Be careful," Kairi called out as Lea slowly approached the weird flower.

There were a few moments of silence, as Lea inspected it closely, but no matter what he did, it didn't react. He had a bad feeling about it, since to him, it looked very familiar.

"Well, it seems like we're all clear," Lea said, and the others all breathed an audible sigh of relief.

As soon as Lea turned his back on it, it pulsated and transformed into a monster.

"Lea, look out!" Kairi shouted out, terrified for him.

Fortunately, it seemed like Lea was _**expecting**_ something to attack him from behind, as he quickly dodged the creature's scythe attack.

Kairi immediately joined him, both Keyblades out and ready to strike down the three monsters that now stood before them.

"W-What are those?" Flynn asked.

"Nobodies," Lea replied.

"That's rude!" Rapunzel called out.

"Not a joke!" Lea shot back. "That's really what they're called!"

"You guys might want to take cover now," Kairi warned.

"No!" Rapunzel said. "I want to help you fight!"

Lea replied, "We know, but you can't hit these guys with a frying pan and survive to tell the tale. Trust us on this."

"Flynn, could you help us out?" Kairi politely asked.

Flynn stuck out his chest, "No problem. Knowing when to flee is one of my specialties." He placed what he hoped was a calming hand on Rapunzel's shoulder, "Look, I want to stay and slug it out too, but my sidekicks are better at this than I am."

"BODYGUARDS!" Lea shot back.

"Same difference!"

"No it's not!" Kairi yelled at Flynn, before lowering her voice for Rapunzel, "Get to safety, Rapunzel. We've got this covered."

Rapunzel nodded, "All right. Please be careful, you two."

Lea shot back a confident smirk, "Don't worry about us. We've trained for this."

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Kairi's Heartscape~**

All throughout that fight, the five residents within Kairi's heart were on edge. Nobodies meant the Organization was nearby.

Fortunately, Axel and Kairi managed to defeat all of the Nobodies without a major injury. Kairi got a cut on her arm from one of her opponents' scythes, but she quickly shook it off like it was nothing and continued to fight.

As soon as the fight was over, Axel and Kairi regrouped to discuss what their current situation was.

"Princess," Axel was solemn, and the five within Kairi's _'apheartment'_ knew and understood why, "you are aware of who uses Nobodies, right?"

"Yeah," Kairi replied. "The Organization. Which means they're here, too."

Sora wondered if Kairi could feel all of their stress and worry. Namine had warned them that Kairi could feel her Nobody's emotions if they were strong enough, as it had happened before, more than once, with the added factor that Kairi was both an empath, able to sense the emotions of others, thanks to her status as a Princess of Heart, as well as being rather empathic herself. But now there were five people inside her heart, and they were all very emotional people, Sora especially.

_Were they hurting her right now?_

"Yeah," Axel said, before calling out loud, "We know you're there, Marluxia! Come out, you has-been!"

A tall man with pink hair appeared out of a Corridor of Darkness, and Sora was immediately on edge. He knew this man. But why? Where did they meet?

_**"Marluxia,"**_ Roxas growled out.

_**"W-Who?"**_ Sora couldn't help but ask.

"_'Has-been'_?" Marluxia asked. "Now why would you say that?"

"Because, bossing around Nobodies? That's the old Organization," Axel sassed back. "What, is the new Organization scrapping the bottom of the barrel to win this war?"

Marluxia let loose a single chuckle, "I missed your sense of humor, Axel. Do you miss it too?" It was then that he seemed to notice that he and Axel were not alone, "Ah, forgive me, Princess Kairi, and my terrible manners. My name is Marluxia. I am one of the thirteen members of the Real Organization XIII. How interesting it is to finally meet you after Sora has talked about you."

Sora felt a tremendous surge of anger immediately shoot through him. Marluxia had just mentioned _**him**_, to Kairi, and that did not sit well with him, at all.

"You and Sora know each other?" Kairi asked, her voice trembling with fear.

"Yes," Marluxia confirmed. "A shame he's no memory of me, because I remember him exceedingly well. Though, it's those memories I'd soon erase."

"What are you talking about?" Kairi was understandingly confused.

Marluxia shrugged it off, "Not important, Your Highness. Now, if you'll permit me, I've come to ask a favor."

Sora did not like how Marluxia was constantly referring to Kairi as _'Princess'_ or _'Your Highness'_. When Axel called her that, he was being friendly, and Sora felt comfortable with that. But Marluxia...it was as if he was patronizing her.

"Favor?" Kairi asked.

_**"What kind of favor?"**_ Namine growled out.

Not to mention, seeing Namine this mad was unusual and very concerning. None of them were used to seeing the quiet, artistic Nobody so vocal about her anger. Roxas was especially worried, because it was obvious that Namine's time in the Organization was not pleasant either.

"You've got to be kidding!" Axel shot back.

"Please, hear me out," but Marluxia was calm. "I'm sure you've noticed...that the maiden with you, Rapunzel, is the very light of this world. Her heart is the same as your own, Princess Kairi."

"Yeah, we've noticed," Kairi said, before tightening her grip on her Destiny's Embrace. "And there's no way you're laying a single finger on her!"

"Easy now," Marluxia replied, trying to obviously keep the peace and not wanting to fight. "All the Organization seeks is balance. Please understand that our ultimate objective is not to clash with the light. We seek to complement it. Use those Keyblades of yours...to keep Rapunzel safe."

He then disappeared in another Corridor of Darkness.

Axel and Kairi just stood there, with solemn moods, as they thought about what Marluxia just said.

Their bad moods were fortunately interrupted by Pluto's barks, who quickly led them to Flynn and Rapunzel's hiding spot.

The five residents in Kairi's apheartment tried their best to snap out of their foul moods so that the emotions wouldn't affect Kairi, and Sora tried his best but just couldn't conceal his anger at the new Organization.

Their nickname for her was downright mean and condesending, and them targeting Kairi just to get to Sora was extremely low, and Sora _**absolutely despised**_ that it always worked.

"You okay?" They heard Rapunzel ask Kairi. "Is your heart hurting?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kairi replied, a little too forcefully, and it was obvious to the five watching from within that she was hurting. "Just a little disoriented from the fight. That's all." Her vocal tone said it all.

Their emotions _**did**_ hurt Kairi, and all five of them knew it.

_**"Sorry, Kairi,"**_ Sora quietly apologized, feeling a tremendous amount of guilt. _**"I'm sorry."**_

The other four had no words to cheer him up, but Roxas placed a gentle hand on Sora's shoulder, and everyone, seen and unseen to Kairi, immediately felt better when Rapunzel changed the subject by immediately fawning over how pretty Kairi's Keyblade was.

All five breathed a sigh of relief when Kairi did not hesitate to accept the subject change and happily explained the aspects of her Keyblade, the one Aqua had passed down to her.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Kingdom of Corona~**

Flynn opened the door to the Snuggly Duckling, and immediately the group was introduced to a bad smell.

"Garcon, your finest table please!" Flynn called out. Flynn turned to Rapunzel, who gasped. "You smell that? Take a deep breath through the nose." He sniffed. "Really let that seep in." It was a very foul smell, and apparently, only Flynn was used to it. "What are you guys getting? Because to me...that's part man-smell, and the other part is really bad man-smell. I don't know why, but overall..." Pascal hid in Rapunzel's hair, "It just smells like the color brown. Your thoughts?"

Rapunzel gasps, and began running with her hair in her arms. She was stopped by a thug.

"That's a lot of hair."

"She's growing it out," Flynn defended her. "Is that blood in your moustache? Goldie, look at this. Look at all the blood in his moustache. That, sir, is a lot of blood. Hey, you don't look so good, Blondie. Maybe we should get you a home. Call it a day. Probably be better off. This is a five star joint after all, and if you can't handle this place, well, maybe you should be back in your tower."

Rapunzel gasped as the pub door shut.

"Is this you?" A guy named Vlad asked, holding up a poster of Flynn's face on a wanted poster.

Flynn moved Vlad's finger off the poster, revealing the badly-drawn nose even worse than it was before. "Aw, now they're just being mean."

Hook laughed. "It's him all right. Greno, go find some guards! That reward's going to buy me a new hook."

Attila spoke up in protest, "I could use the money."

Vlad also protested, "What about me? I'm broke."

Lea leaned towards Kairi and whispered, "I knew he was a wanted man."

There was a clamor as the thugs all grabbed a firm hold of Flynn, all intending to turn him in for their own personal profit.

"Please, stop!" Rapunzel cried out.

"We can work this out," Flynn pleaded.

"Please, leave him alone!" Rapunzel said.

"Gentlemen, please!" Flynn pleaded.

"Give me back my guide! Ruffians!" Rapunzel cried.

Flynn continued to struggle, "Not the nose, not the nose, not the nose!"

Rapunzel stood up on the counter, frying pan in hand, "Put him down!"

Instant silence. Hook turned to her.

"Listen," Rapunzel began to explain, "I don't know where I am, and I need him to take me to see the lanterns because I've been dreaming about them my entire life! Find your humanity! Haven't any of you ever had a dream?"

Hook approached Rapunzel threateningly, but stopped just in front of her.

And what happened next really surprised Lea and Kairi, who were prepared to materialize their Keyblades in case there was trouble.

"I had a dream...once," Hook revealed. A pause, before Rapunzel nodded, urging him to share it, "Well, don't laugh, but, umm...I know I'm malicious, mean and scary, but I've always yearned to be a concert pianist." He climbed to stage and sat in front of the piano. "I'd rather be known for my killer melody."

A big nose thug went next, "I've got scars and lumps and bruises, but despite my complexion, I really want to make a love connection. Though I'm one disgusting blighter, I'm a lover, not a fighter."

One by one, all the thugs revealed their dreams.

Tor wanted to be a florist. Gunther did interior design. Ulf was into mime. Attila's made mean cupcakes. Bruiser knit. Killer sewed. Fang did little puppet shows. And Vlad collected ceramic horses.

Hook turned to Flynn, "What about you?"

"I'm sorry, me?"

"What's your dream," the big nose thug asked.

"No, no, no," Flynn refused. "Sorry boys, I don't get personal with anybody." He changed his attitude when swords were immediately pointed at him. "Well, I've always wanted to live somewhere warm and sunny, on an island I own, tanned and rested and alone, surrounded by enormous piles of money."

Rapunzel turned to Kairi and Lea, and asked, "What about you two?"

Kairi took a moment to think, "Well...I've never really thought about it..."

Lea spoke up, "Keep thinking, then. I dream of reuniting with two of my dearest friends. We were separated some time ago, and I miss them."

Rapunzel gave a warm smile, "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll find them soon!"

Lea returned her smile, "Oh, I know right where they are. They're just kind of...trapped, I guess."

Kairi was the one who spoke up next, "Don't worry, Lea. The pieces will all fall into place once we find Sora." Lea turned his smile towards her.

Kairi distinctly felt a deep sense of _longing_ from within her, but she didn't get the time to wonder why.

Because Rapunzel turned to Kairi next, "Have you found your dream yet?"

Kairi seemed to start, and immediately slapped a smile on, "Yeah. To be the guardian of everyone's smiles. All of your dreams, I'll do everything in my power to ensure that they come true."

It was true. She just wanted everyone to be happy and alive.

Several thugs found this endearing, "Aww. How sweet!" To them, it was obvious that both Rapunzel and Kairi were people worth protecting.

"I found the guards," Greno announced. And Flynn immediately pulled Rapunzel away.

"Where's Rider?" They heard the Captain of the Guards ask. "Where is he? I know he's in here somewhere. Find him; turn the place upside down if you have to!"

Flynn, upon seeing his former accomplices, the Stabbington Brothers, gasped. Knowing of the impending danger, Hook took Flynn, Rapunzel, Kairi, and Lea to a hidden passage.

"Go, live your dream," Hook told them.

"I will," Flynn said.

Hook immediately replied, "Your dream stinks. I was talking to the other three."

"Thanks for everything," Rapunzel said, before the four went through the tunnel.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Kairi's Heartscape~**

Flynn, Rapunzel, Kairi, Lea, Pascal, and Pluto were in the tunnel now, and now they were taking a nice stroll towards the kingdom, relieved that they could take a breather.

"Well, I've got to say," Flynn told Rapunzel, "didn't know you had that in you back there. That was pretty impressive."

It was typical of a Princess of Heart, at least. But yes, it was rather impressive.

"I know! I know," Rapunzel smiled. "So, Flynn, where're you from?"

_**"Aren't they curious about Axel and Kairi?"**_ Xion asked. _**"And their Keyblades?"**_

_**"Most likely,"**_ Namine replied. _**"But perhaps they choose not to say anything, because they know it's not that important."**_

Flynn immediately backed up from Rapunzel's question. "Woah-ho! Sorry, Blondie, I don't do backstory. However, I am becoming very interested in yours. Now, I-I know I'm not supposed to mention the hair."

"Nope."

"Or the mother."

"Nuh-uh."

"Frankly, I'm too scared to ask about the frog."

"Chameleon," Rapunzel corrected.

"Nuance," Flynn replied. "Here's my question, though: if you want to see the lanterns so badly, why haven't you gone before?"

Rapunzel stuttered, trying to find an answer that would satisfy both of them.

_**"Too far, man,"**_ Roxas muttered. _**"Too far."**_

It was clear the girl with the long hair was uncomfortable with that question.

Fortunately, Axel pulled Flynn to the side, saying, "Leave her alone. It's obvious she doesn't want to talk about it." His voice got quieter and quieter as the two males walked farther and farther to the side, leaving the two females to themselves.

Rapunzel took this opportunity to talk to Kairi, "So what's your real dream?"

"Huh?" Kairi asked.

The five people watching this conversation were curious about Kairi's answer to this question, as they knew Kairi was hesitant to answer the question before and were worried as to why.

"I saw how sad you really were back there," Rapunzel explained. "I saw it in your eyes. Like your answer was a misdirect. So, what's your real dream?"

Kairi sighed, "You're right. It was a cop-out. Because my dream, the way things are now, the reality of it coming true is...fading."

"Fading?" Rapunzel repeated, confused and filled with sorrow.

_**"Kairi..."**_ Namine softly, sadly, spoke her Somebody's name once.

Sora turned to Namine, _**"You know what her dream is?"**_

Namine only nodded.

"Yeah..." Kairi materialized her Keyblade. "You see the keychain there? This keychain is what makes my Keyblade the way it is now."

"Is that a star?" Rapunzel asked, after taking a good look at it.

"Yeah," Kairi explained. "Or rather, it's a paopu. It's a star shaped fruit that grows on my home island. The legend goes that...if you and one other person share one, then your destinies will be forever intertwined."

A little smile came to Rapunzel's face, "So you dream of sharing one of these fruits with someone."

Kairi was sad, however, "Yeah. His name is Sora. And right now...I guess you could say that he's missing and it's unlikely that he'll return anytime soon."

A sharp pain of sorrow immediately struck Sora's heart, and his hand automatically flew to his pocket, searching for Kairi's lucky charm.

Rapunzel offered Kairi a comforting smile and side hug, "Don't worry. I'm sure he'll be back soon."

Sora clutched Kairi's lucky charm tightly to his chest. _**"I will, Kairi. Soon. I promise."**_

Kairi smiled, grateful for Rapunzel's optimism, "Right. I just have to keep believing."

Everyone watching this scene, in Kairi's heart and in the real world, immediately felt comforted by the light radiating from the two purest hearts in the entire known universe _resonating_ with each other.

Unfortunately, the moment was ruined was the Captain of the Guard calling out in the distance, "Rider!"

The unusual six companions turned around, and saw a light at the end of the dark tunnel getting brighter and brighter.

"Run!" Flynn called, and they all began running towards the exit, and didn't stop until were out of the tunnel, and into direct sunlight. But they were forced to stop when they ran into the dead end that was a cliff.

Down below them, two thugs appeared, twins, with one wearing an eye patch.

"Who's that?" Rapunzel asked.

"They don't like me," was Flynn's answer.

The palace guards appeared on the same precipice as them.

"Who's that?" Rapunzel asked.

"They don't like me either," Flynn replied.

A horse appeared right in front of them.

"Who's that?!" Rapunzel asked a third time.

"Let's just assume for the moment that everyone in here doesn't like me!" Flynn cried.

"Fair enough," was all Axel said.

"We're trapped!" Kairi brought their attention to their primary problem.

Rapunzel's face light up right then as if she got an idea. "Here!" After throwing her frying pan at Flynn, she used her hair as a grappling hook, "Kairi! Hold onto me!", and swung herself and Kairi to a nearby rock.

"I've waited a long time for this," the Captain of the Guards said, as Flynn used the pan and smacked all the guards surrounding him with it.

After this, he looked at it in awe, "Oh mama, I have got to get me one of these!"

The horse in front of him, Maximus, drew a sword off one of the fallen guards. He neighed before the strange duo dueled, the horse with a sword and Flynn with the frying pan.

"You should know that this is the strangest thing I've ever done!" Flynn commented.

_**"You'd be surprised, Flynn,"**_ Ventus couldn't help but reply, even if the one he was speaking to couldn't hear it. _**"This is **_not_** the strangest thing we've ever seen."**_

The horse flicked the frying pan out of Flynn's hands, making the thief go quiet. "How 'bout two out of three?"

The horse did not buy it. He just angrily shoved the tip of the sword in Flynn's face. He had him cornered.

"Flynn!" Rapunzel called. She wrapped her hair around Flynn's hand, and pulled him away from the cliff. The horse's mouth dropped open in astonishment as Flynn saluted him. "Flynn, look out!"

He was swinging straight towards the two brother thugs.

"Whoa, woah..."

"Ngh!" Rapunzel used her hair to pull him up slightly, just in time for the two to miss him with their swords.

"Ha!" Flynn cried in triumph. "You should see your faces because you look–" Sora and co. winced as Flynn hit the plank "–ridiculous."

Rapunzel mentally apologized to Flynn, before looking over at the horse when she heard a loud crack in his direction.

The horse hit one of the planks holding up the dam, making a bridge to get to her and Kairi.

"Come on, ladies!" Flynn called up to them, as he and Axel stood on the trough, Flynn holding the end of Rapunzel's hair.

"Jump!" Axel called.

In response, Kairi held onto Rapunzel and the two swung to the ground, Pascal clinging onto Rapunzel's shoulder for dear life, and Pluto clutching Kairi's back. The horse was close to grabbing her hair with his teeth. He could almost feel it there, but he chomped down and bit nothing. The two girls were out of his grasp.

Rapunzel and Kairi ran, making their way to the cave up ahead of them, as Flynn and Axel were right behind them, surfing down the trough, which unfortunately, made the whole dam fall apart.

The large wave hit the rock column right behind them, which crashed down right after the four had entered the cave, with Flynn grabbing the frying fan just before it did. They were safe from being crushed by a giant rock, but, unfortunately, that giant rock had sealed them inside the cave.

Now, water was flooding the cave, and the group had gotten has high as they could, but there was no way out.

As the water level rose slowly and slowly, Axel and Kairi dove several times to try and find a way out. Meanwhile, Flynn and Rapunzel tried banging on the rocks, Rapunzel with her frying pan, and Flynn with his hands/fists.

Flynn cried out in pain as one of the rocks cut his hand.

After the third dive, Axel and Kairi resurfaced with bad news.

"It's no use," Axel said. "We can't see anything. And my flames are useless with all this water around."

_Well, that was the problem with his affinity over fire_, Roxas thought. _He was useless when it was wet._

Rapunzel dove, but Axel pulled her back up.

"Hey, there's no point," Axel solemnly replied. "It's pitch-black down there."

Rapunzel sniffed. "This is all my fault. Mother was right. I never should have done this." She sobbed, as Kairi placed a gentle, comforting hand on the other girl's shoulder. "I'm so...I'm so sorry, Flynn, Lea, Kairi, Pluto..."

"Eugene," was all Flynn said.

"What?" Rapunzel was surprised, as were Kairi and Axel.

"My real name is Eugene Fitzherbert. Someone might as well know."

"Hmm," Rapunzel smiled, before nonchalantly saying, "I have magic hair that glows when I sing."

"What?" Now it was Flynn's turn to be surprised.

_**"What now?"**_ Roxas asked, he and the other four not lost at all with what she just said.

Rapunzel seemed to realize what she just said, and repeated, "I have magic hair that glows when I sing!" She took a deep breath, the water reaching their chins now, and sang, "_Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine..._"

The four took a deep breath, as the cave was completely submerged in water.

One moment, it was pitch black. The next, Rapunzel's hair was lit up like the sun itself.

Kairi's eyes widened in surprise, as did Axel's, but Flynn was full on shocked.

"Woah!" He exclaimed, but seeing as how he was underwater, all he got was a mouth full of water.

Axel and Kairi followed Rapunzel's hair as a trail and found that there was an opening that was blocked with rocks, but whatever was on the other side was sucking in her hair.

It was a drain of some kind.

The four swam down to the blocked opening, and Kairi wordlessly called upon her Destiny's Embrace, and used a simple light-based shotlock to destroy the rocks, allowing the four to escape.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Kingdom of Corona~**

The four heroes and their two animal companions all washed up on the river bank.

"We made it," Rapunzel said, smiling at Kairi and Lea.

"We did," Kairi agreed, with a smile mirroring the other girl's.

"Her hair glows," Flynn said, breathlessly, still shocked at what he just saw.

"Thanks, Rapunzel," Lea said. "We're alive because of you."

"Yeah, we're alive," Rapunzel said, standing up as Kairi tiredly scratched Pluto's equally exhausted head.

"I didn't see that coming," Flynn muttered to Pascal.

"Eugene," Rapunzel gently called.

"Why does her hair glow?" Flynn asked Pascal.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel called. Flynn looked up, as Kairi and Lea both stood up next to Rapunzel.

"What?"

"It doesn't just glow."

Flynn did a double take when he saw Pascal's smirk. "Why is he smiling at me?" He asked, motioning to the chameleon.

"Then, if you don't mind us prying," Lea asked, "what else does it do?"

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Rapunzel didn't seem to mind answering that question. The four were huddled around the fire Lea had made, drying off as the sun went down, revealing the night sky in its wake.

"So you're being strangely cryptic as you wrap your magic hair around my injured hand," Flynn said, trying with all his might to be casual. "Agh!" he winced as Rapunzel accidentally hit the sore spot.

"Sorry," the blonde swiftly apologized, before sighing. "Just don't...don't freak out." She sighed again, before singing, making her hair low once again, "_Flower, gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse, Bring back what once was mine._" As Kairi and Lea watched with intrigue, Pascal motioned to Flynn to look at his hand. "_Heal what has been hurt. Change the fate's design. Save what has been lost. Bring back what once was mine. What once was mine..._"

So that's what she meant by magic hair.

Flynn gasped in horror. "Please don't freak out!" Flynn's mouth was wide open, as Rapunzel quietly pleaded, "...Please."

"Aaaggghhh," Flynn was freaking out, and was failing to let conceal it, "I'm-not-freaking-out-are-you-freaking-out-no-I'm-just-very-interested-in-your-hair-and-the-magical-qualities-that-it-posesses!" he said in one breath.

"How long has your hair been doing that exactly?" Kairi asked.

"Oh, forever, I guess," Rapunzel replied, no smile on her face. "Mother says when I was a baby, people tried to cut it. They wanted to take it for themselves. But, once it's cut, it turns brown and loses its power. A gift like that has to be protected. That's why mother never let me..." She sighed. "That's why I never left the...hmm."

"That's why you never left that tower." Lea said, and Rapunzel nodded. "And you're still gonna go back?"

Rapunzel scrambled to find an answer, "No! Yes. Ugh! It's complicated."

Kairi saw that her fellow Princess of Heart was uncomfortable, so she quickly changed the subject. "Hah. So, Eugene Fitzherbert, huh?"

"Oh, yeah," Flynn said. "Well. I'll spare you all the sob story of poor orphan Eugene Fitzherbert, it's a little bit of a...that's a little bit of a downer." Rapunzel scooted closer to Flynn, as Kairi and Lea kicked back. They all wanted to know more. "Okay. There was this book I used to read every night to all the younger kids – _'The Tales of Flynnigan Rider'_. Swashbuckling rogue, richest man alive, not bad with the ladies, either. Not that he would to brag about it, of course."

"Hmm. Was he a thief too?" Lea asked.

Flynn paused a moment before answering, "Uh...well, no. Actually, he had enough money to do anything that he wanted to do. He could go anywhere that he wanted to go. And, and, and for a kid with nothing, I don't know, I...Just seemed like a better option."

"Hmm," Rapunzel acknowledged, as Kairi lowered her gaze to the ground. She knew how he felt, except she was lucky to be raised by the non-blood related woman know as her grandmother.

"You can't tell anyone about this, okay? It could ruin my whole reputation," Flynn quickly said.

"Ah. We wouldn't want that," Rapunzel winked at him, as Lea smirked to himself – the perfect blackmail.

"Well, a fake reputation is all a man has," Flynn said. After a moment of awkward silence, he said, "Ahem. Well, I should, um...I, I should...I should get some more firewood."

"I'll come with you," Lea said, the two guys standing up.

"Hey," Rapunzel called back to Flynn. "For the record, I like Eugene Fitzherbert much better than Flynn Rider.

"Well, then you'd be the first...but thank you," Flynn smiled at her.

Rapunzel smiled back, as the two left.

"Well! I thought they'd never leave!" Came a voice Kairi had not heard yet. A woman's voice.

Kairi turned around, facing the owner of the voice – a young woman with curly black hair – and she materialized her Keyblade. "Who are you?!"

"Mother!" Rapunzel cried out.

"Huh?" That was Rapunzel's mother? The two looked nothing alike.

Then again, neither did Kairi and her grandmother. And there was nothing wrong with being adopted.

But Rapunzel had mentioned that her own mother had _**locked**_ her away in that tower, never to be seen by the outside world.

"Hello dear," Mother Gothel said.

Rapunzel stuttered, "But I, I, I, I don't, uh...How did you find me?"

Mother Gothel scoffed, "Oh, it was easy really. I just listened to the sound of complete and utter betrayal and followed that."

Rapunzel sighed, "Mother..."

"We're going home, Rapunzel. Now."

"You-you don't understand. I've been on this incredible journey and I've seen and learned so much. I even met a few people," Rapunzel replied, with a find smile at the thought of Lea, Kairi, and Flynn.

Mother Gothel faked a smile, "Yes, the wanted thief, the useless princess, and the traitorous assassin. I'm so proud." She didn't sound proud to Kairi. "Come on, Rapunzel."

"Mother, wait. I think...I think Flynn likes me." There was a blush on the blonde's face, and it reminded Kairi of her own face whenever she thought about Sora.

"Likes you? Please, Rapunzel, that's demented."

Kairi kept quiet throughout this whole exchange, feeling rather out of place, but Mother Gothel herw was saying things that hit Kairi a little too close to home.

"But mother, I..."

"This is why you never should have left," Mother said and Rapunzel sighed in exasperation. "Dear, this whole romance that you've invented just proves you're too naive to be here. Why would he like you? Come on now, really. Look at you! You think that he's impressed? Don't be a dummy, come with mummy. After all, Mother knows..."

"NO!"

Their relationship was not a healthy one. Kairi could see that now, as well as why Rapunzel needed to go see those lanterns. And she was incredibly proud of Rapunzel for finally standing up for herself.

Kairi's grip on her Keyblade tightened. She was ready if Mother Gothel ever decided to hurt Rapunzel.

"No?! Oh. I see how it is," Mother Gothel said. "Rapunzel knows best. Fine, if you're so sure now. Go ahead, and give him this!" She threw a satchel at Rapunzel.

And Kairi instantly recognized it. It was the same satchel Flynn had when he was running away from the heartless earlier.

Rapunzel took out a crown, and Kairi's eyes widened, as Rapunzel asked, "How did you…?"

Flynn was a thief, she and Lea both knew that. But he had stolen from the royal family.

Mother motioned to the crown. "This is the only reason why he's here! Don't let him deceive you! Give it to him, watch, you'll see!"

"I will!"

"Trust me, my dear. That's how fast he'll leave you. I won't say I told you so! No, Rapunzel knows best! So if he's such a dreamboat, go and put him to the test."

"Mother, wait–" Rapunzel made to go after her, but Kairi put her hand on her shoulder, keeping her in place.

"If he's lying, don't come crying, _'Mother knows best'_!" And then Mother Gothel just vanished into the night.

Rapunzel looked down at the crown.

"You okay?" Kairi asked, noticing at distraught the blonde was.

Rapunzel started when Kairi spoke to her, "Y-Yeah...I'm fine."

"So..." Rapunzel and Kairi both gasped. Lea and Flynn had returned, with their arms full of firewood. "Hey uh...can I ask you something?" Flynn asked. "Is there any chance that I'm gonna get super strength in my hand because I'm not gonna lie. That would be stupendous." He paused when he saw Rapunzel's distracted face. "Hey, you all right?"

"Oh! Sorry, yes. Just, um, lost in thought, I guess," Rapunzel quickly replied.

Lea turned to Kairi, "You okay there, Princess?"

"I'll tell you later," was all Kairi said. There was no way she was going to keep quiet about what she just witnessed.

Flynn continued, "I mean because here's the thing. Superhuman good looks, I've always had them – born with it, but superhuman strength? Can you imagine the possibilities of this...?"

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Lea and Kairi woke up the next morning to Flynn crying out for help.

"No, no, no, put me down! Let me go! Let–me–go–!" The horse was back and he was dragging Flynn off to wherever the castle was to face justice.

"Release–him–" Rapunzel cried.

The horse shook Flynn from side to side. Rapunzel managed to pull Flynn away, and the horse, Flynn's boot in his mouth, ran to confront the blonde.

"What's going on?" Lea asked.

Rapunzel didn't grace them with an answer. Instead, she focused on the calming the horse down, "Whoa, whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Easy, boy, easy! Settle down! Whoa, whoa! Easy, boy, easy. Easy."

The horse stopped.

"That's it."

Atop Rapunzel's head, Pascal stood and faced the horse, motioning the bigger animal to sit down.

Kairi rose an eyebrow, watching the scene play out.

"Now sit," Rapunzel said. The horse assumed a sitting position. "Sit!" He sat like a dog. "Now drop the boot." The horse stopped. "Drop it!" The horse dropped Flynn's boot. "Aww, you are such a good boy! Yes you are." The horse wagged its tail. "You're all tired from chasing the bad man all over the place?" The horse nodded.

"Excuse me?" Flynn asked, not believing what he was seeing.

Rapunzel continued, "Nobody appreciates you, do they?" The horse grunted. "Do they?" The horse grunted again.

"Oh come on, he's a bad horse!" Flynn tried to object.

"Oh, he's nothing but a big sweetheart!" The horse neighed in delight. "Isn't that right? Maximus?"

Kairi smiled. "See? He's not bad at all. He's just like Pluto." She leaned down and scratched Pluto's chin, who wagged his tail.

"You've got to be kidding me," Flynn muttered.

"Don't worry," Lea leaned into Flynn and quietly said, "Pluto doesn't really give me any kindness either. Though, for good reason."

Maximus hit Flynn.

"Look," Rapunzel began, talking to the horse, "Today is kind of the biggest day of my life, and the thing is, I need you not to get him arrested." Maximus grunted. "Just for twenty-four hours and then you can chase each other to your heart's content, okay?"

Flynn sighed, but stretched out a hand nonetheless. Maximus turned away defiantly.

Rapunzel and Kairi shared a knowing glance. "And it's also my birthday. Just so you know," was all Rapunzel had to say.

Maximus reluctantly agreed. Rapunzel heard distant bells and walks away with Kairi, knowing those were the bells for the lantern festival. When her back was turned, Maximus hit Flynn in the chest.

Flynn immediately crashed to the ground, as Maximus neighed in delight again.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

It was at least thirty minutes later when the group finally reached the kingdom gates.

Rapunzel was practically bouncing up and down on her heals with excitement, saying, "We're actually here!" before linking her arm through Kairi's and pulling the redhead with her into the plaza.

Lea whispered to Flynn and Maximus, "Behave," before following the two girls.

One long braiding train on Rapunzel's hair later, done by a group of little girls, Kairi had gotten a flower crown and was looking a mosaic, which people were bringing flowers to.

"It's for the lost princess," a little girl said, as Rapunzel joined Kairi at the mosaic, with depicted what must have been the King and Queen and the lost baby princess.

Rapunzel looked at it a little closer. The baby princess had golden hair and green just like her.

What struck Kairi the most was the fact that the baby was blonde, but both her parents were brunettes. Was the lost princess adopted to? Or was there more to this that she first thought?

"You okay there?" Lea asked the two.

"Yeah!" Rapunzel said, as Kairi shot him a smile. Some festive music started up, and Rapunzel slapped another exicted smile again. "Kairi! Come on! Let's dance!"

"Okay!"

Lea and Flynn watched as the Princesses of Heart danced to their pure hearts' content, their own faces donned with gentle, fond smiles, watching as their happiness attracted everyone else in the area.

After a while, when the sun was setting, someone shouted, "To the boats!"

Kairi and Lea stayed behind on the docks, as Flynn and Rapunzel got into their own boat.

"Where are we going?" Rapunzel asked him.

"Well, this is the best day of your life," Flynn replied. "I figured you should have a decent seat."

Out on the water, in the boat, Rapunzel thought of something disturbing.

"You okay?" Flynn asked.

"I'm terrified."

"Why?" He asked, concerned.

"I've been looking out a window for eighteen years, dreaming about what it might feel like when those lights rise in the sky. What if it's not everything I dreamed it would be?" She asked him.

"It will be."

"And what if it is? What do I do then?"

"Well, that's the good part I guess," Flynn replied. "You get to go find a new dream."

Rapunzel smiled, as from within the city, the lanterns were launched. She stood up on the front of the ship, watching the lanterns with a smile on her face.

_This was it._ This is what she had been dreaming about.

"Ahem," she heard Flynn clear his throat. She turned and saw him holding two lanterns.

Rapunzel sat back down. "Um, I have something for you, too." She took out Flynn's satchel. "I should have given it to you before, but I was just scared. And the thing is, I'm not scared anymore. You know what I mean?"

She trusted him. Completely.

Flynn refused to take the satchel. "I'm starting to."

Rapunzel smiled, before the two launched their lanterns together.

Both Lea and Kairi were in awe at the sight from their perch on the docks.

"Wow," Lea commented. "This certainly is a sight worth fighting for."

"Yeah..." Kairi trailed off, and that was not lost on Lea.

"You okay there?" he asked.

"Yeah," Kairi said, wiping away a tear. "I just wish Sora was here to see this."

"I know how you feel," Lea shot her a gentle smirk. "I wish Roxas and my other friend were here to see this too."

_**"We **_are_** here,"**_ the trio's words were spoken in unison, but sadly went unheard by the two people they were talking to.

Kairi felt a warm light radiating from her heart. It felt a lot like Sora's light, and she smiled.

_Wherever Sora was, he was still thinking about her._

Kairi took out her Gummiphone and recorded the rest of the light show.

"I know it's not the same," Kairi said, before Lea could speak up. "But it's better than nothing. I'll send it to Riku, and when Sora gets back, I'll show him."

"I wasn't going to object," Lea reassured her. "I was just wondering if you could send the video to me too."

"Of course," Kairi replied. "I'm sending it to everyone."

"Even Master Yen Sid?"

"_**Especially**_ Master Yen Sid."

Meanwhile, Flynn was about to kiss Rapunzel when he saw two certain somebodies on the nearby shore.

_His two accomplices, the twin thugs known as the Stabbington brothers._

Rapunzel noticed him hesitating, and asked, "Is everything okay?"

She had no idea who was waiting for them. They were after her because of him, and he needed to put a stop to that.

"Huh? Oh, yes, uh, huh. Yes, of course. I just..." he stuttered, before rowing Rapunzel back to shore. "I'm sorry, everything is fine. There's just something I have to take care of."

"Okay."

He didn't deserve her trust, but he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

"I'll be right back," Flynn said, taking the satchel. "I promise."

Rapunzel watched him walk away with the satchel, before reassuring her chameleon friend, "It's all right, Pascal. He'll be back before we know it."

With the lantern launching having ended a while ago, Lea yawned, "Well, I'm ready to call it a day whenever you are."

Kairi held up her hand, as the two stood up on the docks, "Hold on. I want to make sure Rapunzel and Flynn come back okay first."

Kairi's gaze led her to the shoreline, where she saw Rapunzel walking into the forest with Mother Gothel.

"Rapunzel!" Kairi called, forcing Lea to follow Kairi's line of sight. He immediately jumped into action once he saw the same thing she did.

"We have to stop her!"

"Right!"

The two ran forward, but were quickly stopped by Reaper Nobodies.

Lea cursed under his breath. "Dammit...I told you we should've gone with them, Princess!"

"I know! But fight now, talk later!" Kairi ordered. "Rapunzel's safety is our top priority!"

As they began the fight, Lea couldn't help but wonder where Flynn was.

_Did he actually leave? Like Mother Gothel said he would – as she told Kairi and Rapunzel?_

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

It took them about five minutes, at least, to take care of the Nobodies. Lea and Kairi were running on the shoreline, and they had finally caught up to the place where they saw Rapunzel leave with Mother Gothel.

Kairi cried out, "Wait! Rapunze–!"

Marluxia appeared from a cloud of darkness, "Show some decorum."

"Marluxia!" Lea exclaimed.

Marluxia continued, "The girl has found her dear mother. You should let them be."

"And why should we do that?! I've met her mother! She's not a nice person!" Kairi said, her heartbeat speeding up due to adrenaline and fear, something she was not used to.

"Because Rapunzel is far too important," Marluxia explained. "Atop her tower, she must remain out of sight, and live out her days with Mother Gothel."

Kairi didn't agree with that, "But that's like locking her in a prison! Rapunzel is a person, not an object!"

Her mind flashed to a memory Namine had accidentally showed her once, when the Nobody's emotions concerning loneliness had gotten a little out of hand. A memory that showed Namine sitting in a white room, sadly drawing in her sketchbook, all alone as she manipulated Sora's memories against her will.

She didn't want anyone else to go through with that. Never again.

"That is _**exactly**_ what it's like," Marluxia confirmed, before explaining, "Rapunzel's hair holds the powerful magic of healing. And yes, Mother Gothel wants it for herself. As do others. And, if Mother Gothel's actions will protect Rapunzel, preserve her...then she is doing the Organization and you all a big favor. You could say she's keeping Rapunzel on the shelf for us. An extra pawn in case you fail to find the remaining guardians of light, and we have occasion to call on other hearts of light instead. A New Seven Hearts to fill out the ranks."

Lea was angry. "Why you–!"

But Kairi was downright pissed, "If Rapunzel is locked back in that tower, she's as good as dead!" Kairi drew her Destiny's Embrace. "Now I can see why Namine hates you so much. It's obvious that Lea and I are the only ones who really care about Rapunzel! It's time for you to go now! You've overstayed your welcome!"

Lea was surprised by Kairi's outburst. He knew Kairi cared about other people, but he didn't really see just how much she cared until now.

But Marluxia was not at all fazed by Kairi's anger one bit, "Hmph. It's not very...elegant of you to go and make a scene, Your Highness."

"_Stop calling me that_!"

Lea paused. Did Kairi..._forget_?

"Can't stand the truth? _You are the lost Princess of Radiant Garden_, are you not?" Marluxia asked, asking what Lea wanted to ask, but a lot meaner than the redhead would have.

He glanced over Kairi worriedly, and warned, "Back off, Kairi."

Marluxia calmly said, "No need, Axel. It's lights out for Princess Kairi."

The pink-haired Nobody threw a pink mist at Kairi, who blacked out and crashed to the floor, her keyblade dematerializing on her way down.

"Kairi!" Lea called out.

Sora went unheard by Kairi as well, as well as Lea and Marluxia, _**"KAIRI!"**_

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

It was morning now, and Mother Gothel had just undone Rapunzel's braid, and had taken out all the flowers.

As Rapunzel lie down in her bed, clenching a purple handkerchief with the Kingdom of Corona's logo on it, her mother's words burned in her memory, _"I really did try, Rapunzel. I tried to warn you what was out there. The world is dark and selfish and cruel. If it finds even the slightest ray of sunshine, it destroys it."_

She noticed something within her ceiling paintings, took another look at the handkerchief in her hand, before staring up at her mural.

The emblem of Corona was found in literally every nook and cranny within her paintings.

_And it was then that everything seemed to click._

_**Why the lanterns only appeared on her birthday, why the baby in the mosaic looked just like her, why putting on the crown Flynn had stolen the other day felt so right.**_

This realization made her stumble backwards, and her knocking into her dresser caught her mother's attention.

"Rapunzel?" the woman asked, climbing the stairs, as Rapunzel exited her room through her curtains. "Rapunzel, what's going on up there?" Rapunzel gasped, and the woman asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm the lost princess," the blonde quietly revealed.

Mother Gothel sighed in exapseration, "Oh, please speak up Rapunzel. You know how I hate the mumbling."

"I am the lost princess!" Rapunzel repeated, a little louder this time. "Aren't I? Did I mumble, Mother? Or should I even call you that?"

"Oh Rapunzel, did you even hear yourself? Why would you ask such a ridiculous question?"

"It was you! It was all you!" Rapunzel would never forgive herself for being so blind all this time.

Mother Gothel approached her, and offered a gesture of comfort, "Everything that I did was to protect... you."

Why did she hesitate? Rapunzel asked herself before pushing her _'mother'_ away.

"Rapunzel!"

Rapunzel descended the stairs, fully intending on getting out of here, back to Kairi, back to Lea...back to Eugene. "I've spent my entire life hiding from people who would use me for my power..."

"Rapunzel!"

"...but I should have been hiding...from you!"

"Where will you go?" Mother Gothel demanded, as if she knew something Rapunzel did not. "He won't be there for you. None of them will."

"What did you do to him?" Rapunzel demanded, worried about her three friends. Where were they? Where did they go?

"That criminal is to be hanged for his crimes," Gothel informed her. "And the other two have been swiftly taken care of by a colleague of mine."

Rapunzel gasped. "No..."

_'Hanged'_ meant Flynn was going to be executed. _'Taken care of'_, in that context, meant that Lea and Kairi had been defeated by those Heartless and Nobodies they were protecting her from.

"Now, Now. It's all right. Listen to me. Everything is as it should be," Gothel said, going to pat Rapunzel's hair.

Rapunzel, however, stopped Gothel's hand before it could touch her, "No! You were wrong about the world. And you were wrong about me. And that _'useless princess'_? Her name is Kairi! I can tell that she and I are the same! She's bright and kind _**and**_ strong, and so am I! And I will never let you use my hair again!"

With one swift burst of strength, Rapunzel violently shoved her _'mother'_ away from her, causing the woman to cry out and the mirror she crashed into to shatter into pieces.

As Gothel panted, Rapunzel walked away, full intending on getting out her prison.

When Rapunzel's back was turned, Mother Gothel stood up, surrounded by darkness, "You want me to be the bad guy? Fine. Now I'm the bad guy..."

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Kairi stirred when she felt Pluto's tongue on her cheek, drowsy with sleep. Apparently, Marluxia could make people fall asleep. That was good to know.

When she was finally aware of what was going on, Lea and Pluto were standing over her as she lie on the ground. But there were other people with them.

The thugs from the Snuggly Duckling.

"Lea, guys, we have to go! Rapunzel is in danger!" She exclaimed as she remembered why they were even here in Corona.

"We know," Lea said, as he helped Kairi stand up. "But so is Flynn. He's about to be executed."

"Split up?" Kairi suggested.

Lea nodded in agreement, "Yeah. I'll go with these guys to help Flynn. You go and save Rapunzel."

Kairi nodded, before saying with an encouraging smile, "Good luck, Pyromaniac."

Lea returned her smile with his signature smirk, "You too, Princess."

And the two went their separate ways.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

The thugs led Lea through the castle. But when were on the bridge in front of the gates, the group stopped when a certain pink-haired Nobody emerged from a black cloud.

"Marluxia," Lea growled, as he stepped in front of the large group of thugs.

"Axel, Mother Gothel has fully succumbed to the darkness inside of her. There's no way we can let her near our pure light now. She must be stopped."

That was bad. If Mother Gothel had succumbed to the darkness when she was _**meant**_ to protect Rapunzel for the Organization, then Rapunzel sincerely was in grave danger.

_But he had faith in Kairi._

Lea smirked as he materialized his Flame Liberator, "Unfortunately, so must you." He turned the thugs. "You guys go on ahead and save Flynn. I'll take care of this guy."

Marluxia let the thugs go on past him, making no move to stop him.

"One quick question before I defeat you," Lea said, "why is the Organization after Kairi?"

"Master Xehanort has an interest in her," Marluxia revealed, "but the reason why is a secret to even us."

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Rapunzel was in trouble. Mother Gothel had told the Stabbington brothers about Rapunzel, all about her, including her magic hair.

If the old lady really was Rapunzel's mother, and was trying to protect her, then why did she place Rapunzel in even more danger by revealing Rapunzel's secret to people Flynn knew were bad, to people who deserved to be in this prison?

The guards had Flynn pinned, unable to fight them back anymore.

They had a cell ready for him, but all the doors in the hallway they were in suddenly closed without warning.

"What's this?" The Captain asked Flynn before pounding on the door. "Open up!"

"What's the password?" It was Shorty.

"What?"

"Nope."

"Open this door!"

"Not even close!"

"You have three seconds," The Captain said. "One!" The guard on the left was hooked away. "Two..." The guard on the right was whisked away. "Three..." The Captain turned around to see Flynn, all by himself, who merely waved at him.

Flynn winced as Attila hit the Captain with a frying pan.

"Frying pans! Who knew, right?" Flynn said, glad that someone had come to help him.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Kairi fought off Heartless after Heartless, as she ran after Pluto, who was leading the way back to Rapunzel's tower.

When she reached a familiar clearing, she knew she had made it.

_Yes! There it was! Rapunzel's tower!_

Kairi wasted no time whatsoever, and she ran towards the tower, Pluto hot on her heels.

But the two immediately halted when the boss Heartless stood in their way, between them and Rapunzel.

The Grim Guardianess...the manifestation of Mother Gothel's darkness.

She wanted to save Rapunzel, but Pluto couldn't fight this Heartless off by himself. She needed to fight this thing off first.

She cupped her mouth to amplify her voice, and called up to the tower window, "Rapunzel! I know you're up there! Keep fighting and I'll find a way to get you out soon!"

There was a moment of silence, before a familiar frying pan flew out of the window and landed on the ground next to Kairi. The redhead glanced back up at the window. She briefly got a glimpse of Rapunzel, before Mother Gothel pulled her back by tying a cloth around her neck.

Rapunzel was in trouble, but she had given Kairi her frying pan. A way to fight.

Kairi grabbed the frying pan, and soon a light surrounded the object, transforming it into a miniature version of a frying pan, like a keychain.

_A keychain..._

Kairi got an idea, hoping it would work. She hooked up the new keychain to her Destiny's Embrace, and light surrounded it.

When it faded, Kairi's keyblade had transformed.

The _**Ever After**_ keyblade...

_Yes! It had worked._

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

It emotionally hurt Lea to fight against a former friend, but considering what had happened to him – he had gotten his old identity back – Lea was not at all worried that Marluxia would be suffering anymore.

He had done it. As Marluxia slowly faded in a cloud of darkness, he laughed, "Oh...So, now it all comes back to me."

Lea smirked, "Hey, was that a real laugh, there, Marluxia?"

"Yes...my heart is remembering how to feel," Marluxia replied.

"Don't fight it," Lea advised. "It's a good thing." _Take a look at me, Marluxia. I have my life back._

"Indeed," the pink-haired man said. "And now, I am on the cusp of reclaiming my identity...my purpose for being...like you...Thank you, Axel...thank Princess Kairi for me too...and take good care of her...Whatever Xehanort has planned...cannot be pleasant..."

"I will," Lea vowed as Marluxia disappeared for good.

Lea snapped out of his reverie when he heard a yell that grew louder and louder until it stopped right next to him. The redhead turned and saw that it was Flynn who just landed on Maximus neatly and safely.

_The thugs had done it._

Maximus neighed when Flynn had taken in the scene and what had just happened.

"Lea! You made it!" Flynn cried, a happy smile on his face.

"Thank Maximus. He's the one who brought everyone here," Lea replied.

"Max. You brought them here?" Maximus neighed. "Thank you." Maximus smiled, before he motioned for them to get going. "No really. Thank you. Uh. I feel maybe this whole time we've just been misunderstanding one another, and we're really just–"

Maximus was getting frustrated, and Lea noticed.

"Ahem. Gratitude later. Save Rapunzel now," Lea ordered as he got on Maximus's back behind Flynn.

"–Yeah, you're right, we should go." Flynn turned to Maximus. "Okay Max, let's see how fast you can run."

Maximus neighed his reply.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

The trio reached the tower, just as Kairi stood over the defeat Grim Guardianess, her new keyblade in hand.

"Hey, Flynn! Good to see you again!" Kairi said, before turned towards the tower. "But Rapunzel's still in danger."

"We know," Flynn said. "That's why we're here." He called out, "Rapunzel? Rapunzel, let down your hair!" He attempted to climb the tower on his own, when Rapunzel's hair suddenly fell from the window. Flynn, Lea, and Kairi – with Pluto on her back – all climbed the rest of the tower using Rapunzel's hair. Flynn slapped on a relieved smile when the trio was inside the tower. "Rapunzel, I thought we'd never see you again. Huh?"

The three noticed that Rapunzel was chained and gagged. She was screaming, muffled, obviously trying to warn them about something.

But they couldn't discern what she was trying to tell them.

Flynn let out a cry of pain as Mother Gothel stabbed him in the back.

"Flynn!" Kairi and Lea both cried out.

Rapunzel let out more muffled screams, and Kairi would never get Rapunzel's terrified face out of her mind.

"Now look what you've done, Rapunzel," Gothel said, as Flynn struggled. "Oh, don't worry, dear. Our secret will die with him. With all three of them." Flynn continued to struggle as Rapunzel continued her muffled screams. "And as for us, we are going where no one would ever find you again!"

Pascal bit a piece of Gothel's dress in an attempt to stop her, but Gothel merely shook him off. Pascal crashed against the wall.

"Now, to take care of the useless princess and the traitorous assassin."

Kairi and Lea readied their Keyblades, "Not if we have anything to say about it!"

"You're going down!" Lea added. "And there's no way you can win. Marluxia's gone now. There's no one else who can help you."

Mother Gothel sent a strong burst of dark energy at the two. Lea smashed against the wall, where Pascal was just moments before, and Kairi smashed her back against the already shattered mirror.

Rapunzel screamed in horror at the sight and struggled even more, mainly to get the gag off.

"Rapunzel, really! Enough already! Stop fighting me!" Gothel demanded.

Rapunzel was successful in getting her voice back, "No! I won't stop. For every minute of the rest of my life I will fight! I will never stop trying to get away from you!" She caught her breath. "But, if you let me save them all, I will go with you."

Flynn continued to struggle, "No! No, Rapunzel!"

Pascal woke back up, as Lea growled out, "Rapunzel. Don't."

But Rapunzel continued to speak as if they hadn't said a word, "I'll never run, I'll never try to escape. Just let me heal my friends, and you and I will be together. Forever, just like you want. Everything will be the way it was. I promise."

Pascal was confused at this. Rapunzel was willing to risk her freedom for three people she met not even a week ago?

"Just like you want. Just let me heal them."

Mother Gothel approved, apparently, but she chained up Flynn, Lea, and Kairi rightly. "In case you get any ideas about following us." She then walked to the side, letting Rapunzel take over.

Rapunzel went to Flynn first, "Eu–Eugene!"

Flynn coughed before wrenching.

"I'm so sorry. Everything is gonna be okay–"

"No, Rapunzel–" Flynn protested.

"I promise you. You have to trust me–"

"No–"

"Come on. Just breathe–"

"I can't let you do this," Flynn confessed.

"But I can't let you die," Rapunzel countered, softly.

Flynn coughed, ignoring Rapunzel's shushing, "But if you do this, then you will die."

Kairi agreed with Flynn one hundred percent, but he was dying and she couldn't let that happen either.

"Hey. It's gonna be all right."

Flynn forced a smile. Rapunzel prepared to sing the incantation, when Flynn stopped her. "Rapunzel, wait..."

Then without warning, he sliced off Rapunzel's hair with a broken shard of the mirror.

Rapunzel looked at him, shocked, as her hair turned dark brown from the cut ends to the roots. "Eugene, what...?"

Mother Gothel let out a big, "No!"

Lea and Kairi watched as Rapunzel's golden hair turned dark brown quickly along its length.

Gothel tried to wrap herself around remaining golden hair. "No, no, no..." her hand immediately aged as Rapunzel's hair was completely brown. "No! What have you done? What have you done?" Her hair had turned white. "No!"

Pascal and Pluto both shared a look, before both pulled a length of hair, tripping Gothel. The group watched as the woman fell from the tower.

Lea peaked out the window, watching Gothel and her dress turn to dust before her cloak hit the ground. Rapunzel returned to Flynn, as Lea and Kairi used their Keyblades to break everyone's chains.

"No, no, no, no, no, Eugene," Rapunzel frantically scrambled to make sure he was still alive. Flynn coughed. "Look at me, look at me, I'm right here, don't go, stay with me, Eugene." She placed Flynn's weak hand on top of her brunette, magic-less head. "_Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine, make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine–_"

"–Rapunzel," Flynn gently called out.

"What?"

"You were my new dream," he revealed with a smile.

Rapunzel sobbed, "And you were mine."

Flynn breathed his last and his hand fell to the side, completely lifeless. Lea and Kairi were quiet as Rapunzel's eyes welled up with tears.

_Flynn's swansong...he risked his life to set Rapunzel free._

Rapunzel finished her song, "_Heal what has been hurt. Change the fate's design. Save what has been lost. Bring back what once was mine. What once was mine._"

Kairi fell to her knees, tears welling up her eyes. Pluto slowly walked over to her as Lea kneeled next to her, both unsure of what to do to comfort her.

One of Rapunzel's tears – her first one – fell on Flynn's cheek. She didn't notice it absorb into Flynn's cheek, breifly shining like the sun before fading. A moment later, Flynn's wound lit up like the sun, and light engulfed the entire room.

The light faded, and Rapunzel watched it carefully as it did. Flynn's wound was gone.

"Rapunzel," came Flynn's voice, as he opened his eyes.

Rapunzel gasped in happiness, "Eugene."

"Did I ever tell you I've got a thing for brunettes?"

Lea scoffed, his signature smirk back on his face, as Kairi's tears of sorrow turned into tears of joy, and Pluto began wagging his tail.

Kairi knew what had happened. Rapunzel had unknowingly used her Princess of Heart powers to revive him.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel gasped, before embracing him, and then kissing him.

Kairi happily wrapped Lea and Pluto up in a big hug, crying tears of joy, as the trio celebrated their well deserved victory.

The red-haired princess wasn't the only one crying tears of joy. Within her heart, five individuals were letting pure happiness consume their own hearts, all five in one big hug.

Sora had fallen to his knees the exact same way Kairi had, causing the other four to worry about him. He had escaped to Kairi's heart to avoid this kind of stuff.

But Flynn had been revived. By risking his own life to ensure Rapunzel's freedom, he had deserved his happily ever after.

And now, knowing that everything was okay now, Sora let tears of joy freely fall down his face, letting his own tears mix in with Kairi's.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

It had taken at least an hour to get Flynn and Rapunzel off of each other. But now, the group was standing outside the tower, and Lea and Kairi had to go, because they're mission here was over.

"You'll visit soon, right?" Rapunzel asked them.

"Of course," Kairi said. "You can always count on us whenever there's trouble."

"The most important thing, Rapunzel," Lea said, "is that you're free. You can now do whatever you want, and go wherever you want."

"I know!" Rapunzel exclaimed. "I still can't believe it. But thanks to you, Kairi, I know that I _can_ be strong."

Kairi smiled. "Your strength comes from your _kindness_, Rapunzel. Don't ever lose that."

Rapunzel nodded, as Eugene said, "We hate to see you guys go so soon."

"We have other places to go, other people to meet and save," Lea said.

"Right," Rapunzel said, before reassuring them, "Don't ever lose sight of your dreams, both of you. They will come true one day."

"We know they will," Lea replied. "Thanks to you."

Kairi then turned to Flynn and said, "Take care of Rapunzel. She's the sole light of this world, which means she's very precious."

"Don't worry. I will. I have no intention of letting her go."

The two turned to each with a fond smile before embracing again.

And that was the note Lea, Kairi, and Pluto left Kingdom of Corona on, zooming off in the Gummi Ship to the next world that needed their help.

_**To Be Continued…**_

_**!~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~3~~R~E~W~R~I~T~E~~!**_

A/N: Sorry that it's so long. I didn't feel like splitting it up into smaller chapters. While I am a big fan of Kingdom Hearts, I just recently got into the fandom. _**So if I get anything wrong, I'm sorry. Please, no flaming. Instead, just politely inform me in a PM or a review**_, so I can correct any mistake I make.

Yes, the first of the six new Hearts is _**Rapunzel **_from Tangled. _**Next World: Moana/Motonui**_

_**The term "apheartment" belongs to whoever came up with it, because I did not. **_


	3. Chapter 2: Sonder

A/N: Here's the next chapter. Featuring: the world of Moana!

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Disney in any way, shape, or form! I only owe an OC who will appear later in the story._

**Note:** I changed the cover of this story _**(see above)**_. It's what Kairi looks like in this story.

Also, apologies if I don't write out the fights the way you want them to be. I'm writing this story by how the cutscenes would be, and the fight scenes are entirely up to your imagination. You know, like how the games technically are. _**(That and I'm terrible at writing action sequences.)**_

**And to the anon who wanted me to "kill myself" – whose review I deleted – sorry to disappoint you, but I am still here and I am not going anywhere.**

_**!~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~3~~R~E~W~R~I~T~E~~!**_

**Let Me Face My Fears**

**Chapter 2:** _Sonder_

_**"The realization that each passerby has a life as vivid and complex as your own."**_

**~Motunui~**

"In the beginning, there was only ocean, until the Mother Island emerged. Te Fiti. Her heart held the greatest power ever known. It could create life itself. And Te Fiti shared it with the world. But in time some began to seek Te Fiti's heart. They believed if they could possess it, the great power of creation would be theirs. And one day...the most daring of them all voyaged across the vast ocean to take it. He was a demigod of the wind and sea. He was a warrior. A trickster. A shapeshifter who could change form with the power of his magical fish hook. And his name was Maui. But without her heart, Te Fiti began to crumble giving birth to a terrible darkness. Maui tried to escape, but was confronted by another who sought the heart. Te Ka! A demon of earth and fire. Maui was struck from the sky...never to be seen again. And his magical fish hook and the heart of Te Fiti were lost to the sea. Where, even now, a thousand years later, Te Ka and the demons of the deep still hunt for the heart. Hiding in a darkness that will continue to spread, chasing away our fish, draining the life from island after island, until every one of us is devoured by the bloodthirsty jaws of inescapable death!"

All the small toddlers in the room that the woman was teaching to began screaming in utter fear at her last sentence. Well, all but one little girl – the woman's granddaughter.

"But one day, the heart will be found by someone who will journey beyond the reef, find Maui, deliver him across the great ocean to restore Te Fiti's heart and save us all," the woman finished her story.

Unknowingly to the little girl who wasn't screaming – who actually found the story fascinating, her grandmother had basically prophecied her future, her destiny.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Lanes Between~**

Donald and Goofy had camped out on Destiny Islands for about two days, but despite how much Goofy's reasoning made sense, Sora's heart did not show itself to them.

Eventually, Donald got tired of waiting and activated a spell, called _'Soul Search'_ – which allowed the two to get an accurate view of whether or not Sora's heart was actually here on Destiny Islands.

It wasn't.

Now crestfallen, the two returned to their Gummi Ship, not sure where to go next. Feeling guilty about being wrong, Goofy let Donald choose their next location.

"Some worlds are important to Sora because he learned an important lesson there, or something significant happened to him while in that world," Donald suggested after a few moments of silence.

"Okay," Goofy accepted Donald's reasoning. "But how do you suggest we search all the worlds?"

"The easiest way is chronologically. We can use Jiminy's journal if we ever get lost," Donald said, taking charge despite his current heartache – securing the Princess of Heart was difficult enough, but finding Sora's heart was proving to be his and Goofy's biggest challenge yet. "Let's start with where we first met Sora."

"Traverse Town," the two spoke simultaneously.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Hollow Bastion~**

"Tell me, Your Majesty," Riku spoke up to his mission partner, "if Leon and the gang have succeeded in restoring this world to its former glory, then why is it still called Hollow Bastion instead of Radiant Garden like it was before?"

Having just talked to the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee, the two were walking through the streets of what would be Radiant Garden – what it was before – but Mickey and Leon's gang were all still adamant on calling it Hollow Bastion for some reason.

_A reason Riku did not understand._

"Let me answer that question with a question of my own," Mickey replied. "Why do you call a Heartless a Heartless?"

"Because they don't have a heart," Riku replied. Mickey paused as he waited for it to click. He didn't have to wait very long. "This world is still missing something, isn't it?"

"That is correct," Mickey replied. "Radiant Garden became Hollow Bastion because it lost its heart, so to speak."

"Like a heartless," Riku said.

Mickey nodded, "Yes. And Hollow Bastion cannot become Radiant Garden again until its heart returns. Does that make more sense?"

"Yeah," Riku confirmed. "It does. Can we help Hollow Bastion's heart return? Or bring it here?"

"No," Mickey solemnly replied. "Unfortunately, the heart must return of her own accord."

"_'Her'_?" Riku asked, catching Mickey's choice of words. "You mean..."

"Radiant Garden was ruled by a monarchy," Mickey revealed. "However, five years before it became Hollow Bastion, the King and Queen were lost and the Princess – just a baby – melded among the common people for her own safety. Five years later, you can probably guess what happened next."

"Something happened to the Princess, and this world has been Hollow Bastion ever since," Riku finished. "Does the Princess remember being...well...the Princess?"

"No," Mickey replied. "At least, that's what things look like."

"_'Look like'_?" Riku once again caught his partner's choice of words. "You mean she's still alive? And you know her?"

"Yes, she's still alive," Mickey answered. "And yes, I know her. So do you. Rather personally, I might add."

It didn't take Riku long to guess – as he didn't know many females personally, except for two.

"_Kairi_?"

Mickey nodded.

But he just couldn't believe it. _Kairi was the Princess of Radiant Garden_, and she had no memory – at least, that's what Mickey believed.

"Shh," Mickey followed up before Riku could say anything else. "Please, keep this a secret. If Xehanort were to find out, it would spell disaster for everyone involved."

"Of course not," Riku immediately agreed. Kairi was already fighting for the safety of her fellow six Princesses of Heart. She didn't need Xehanort coming after her personally.

He was barely hanging on with the knowledge of Sora's body being an empty shell - a blank canvas for Xehanort – because Sora's heart was nowhere in sight. If something were to happen to Kairi – like Xehanort breaking her like the previous six Princesses – Riku didn't believe he'd be able to take it.

He had accepted his personal darkness in order to protect his friends and bring Sora's memories back. What sacrifice would he have to make this time?

Riku was pulled out of his thoughts when his Gummiphone went off. He knelt down as he answered it to allow Mickey to be in the shot as well.

"Hello?" Riku answered. Master Yen Sid was on the other line.

_**"I have news,"**_ Yen Sid replied. _**"Xehanort now completely owns Sora's body. Flora, Fauna, and Merriweather have it confined within their barrier, but they're not sure how long it can hold, or if it can even hold at all."**_

Okay. Xehanort had control of Sora's body now, but had not taken the opportunity to act yet - probably waiting for that chance.

"I see," Mickey muttered.

"Don't worry," Riku said, before reminding them, "as long as Xehanort doesn't have Sora's heart, we still have a chance to save him."

_**"Indeed,"**_ Yen Sid agreed, before warning them, _**"but I still advise you all to be cautious. The danger has just begun. Donald and Goofy have had no luck finding Sora's heart as of yet."**_

Riku and Mickey only nodded, unable to defy the truth in that.

"You have any word on Lea and Kairi?"

_**"Yes,"**_ Yen Sid answered Riku's inquiry, before revealing the said word, _**"Lea and Kairi have secured the first New Light and are currently on their way to securing the second."**_

"Oh yeah," Mickey said, "Kairi sent us the video of that lantern show." Riku nodded, remembering the video. It was a beautiful sight, but he agreed with Kairi when she had told Axel – in the video – that the video wasn't the same as real life.

Riku kind of envied Kairi and Axel for being able to see the real thing.

But he was proud of Kairi – and Axel – for completing her mission – or part of it. "I knew she could do it."

_He had no doubts._

But he still wished that one day, he, Sora, and Kairi would go on adventures together, _like they always planned_.

_**"Yes, but she still must be careful,"**_ Yen Sid warned. _**"Again, the danger has only just begun. Riku, Mickey, watch each others' backs. May your hearts be your guiding key."**_

Riku and Mickey nodded before Riku hung up, his mind stirring with all the information he just learned.

And he was worried about the future.

_What exactly was in store for them?_

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Motunui~**

Lea opened his eyes from darkness to a place he did not recognize.

The sky was a very clear dark blue, the full moon and lots of stars were shining down on him – which meant it was nighttime, there was sand beneath him, and the sound of waves crashing against a beach were assaulting his ears.

Pluto licking his face quickly brought his attention to reality.

"Oh, Pluto," Lea muttered as he stirred and eventually sat up. "Hey, boy. Where are we?"

Pluto's responding bark sounded confused. It seems like Pluto didn't know either. Great...

Pluto barked again, this time sounded rather sad and worried. Lea cocked his head to the side, confused as to why the dog sounded this way.

"Hey, Princess, you can talk to animals. Can you understand what this dog is saying?" Lea asked.

It was only when Lea experienced nothing but silence that he took a look around. He was on an island, all by himself.

_Kairi was nowhere to be found._

Where was she? What happened to them? Were they attacked by something? Both of them could feel a very dark presence the moment they entered this world, but that's all he remembered, because everything after that up until now was a blur.

"About time you woke up, Spike," came an unfamiliar male voice over to his right.

Lea turned in the direction of the voice, and found a dark-skinned man, with long dark, curly hair, covered in tattoos, and wearing a grass skirt. The man was tending to a campfire.

"Who are you?" Lea asked.

"The one who saved you from drowning," the man replied. "You're welcome, by the way."

"Thanks..." Lea muttered before turning to Pluto, wordlessly asking the dog what they should do now.

"Were you in a boat crash or something?" The man asked him. "I'm curious, because all I saw was you and the dog."

"Honestly, I have no idea myself," Lea replied.

A cooked fish on a stick was held out in front of him. Lea's eyes lead him to a tattooed arm and he followed the arm to the man who had saved him. "Sorry this island isn't much of a paradise to get stranded on. At least, I'm not alone anymore. The name's Maui."

"Lea," said the redhead as he took the cooked fish. "The dog's name is Pluto."

"Come on over by the fire," Maui suggested after Pluto softly barked his greeting. "You'll be warmer."

Lea slowly got to his shaky feet, Pluto at his ankles.

"Am I supposed to wait?" Lea asked to no one in particular.

Once Lea sat down next to Maui, Pluto had laid down, intent on waiting for Kairi to find them.

Lea glanced back out at the sea, and had to look twice when the ocean itself nodded, motioning to Lea that yes, he was supposed to wait.

Okay. Fine. Not like he had anything else to do.

_But did the ocean really just communicate with him?_

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

"See, Gramma?! She's right here!" a girl's voice penetrated the darkness surrounded Kairi. The voice was unfamiliar to her, but she could tell it belonged to a female.

The redhead felt very groggy as she opened her eyes to a clear, starry night sky, the full moon shining down on her. Her body was numb from the cold ocean waves, which were gently pushing her against the sandy beach beneath her.

_What happened to her? Where was Lea? Where was she?_

"Oh dear," came an old lady's voice. "She's hurt. We need to bring her to our healers right away."

"Gramma, her clothes...are different," the girl replied as Kairi felt the girl, who had surprisingly strong arms, lift from her the water. "Do you think she's...?"

"Beyond the reef?" The grandmother finished. "Perhaps."

She heard a pig squeal in what sounded like concern. "Don't worry, Pua. She'll be okay," the girl calmly said.

This girl – the younger one that was helping her out of the water – was an interesting one. Her heart was pure light.

_Just like her own._

Her vision became dark and groggy as the numbness of the cold faded away, the warm air quickly replacing it and making Kairi suddenly aware of painful injuries she didn't remember sustaining.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Lea should've known that his well-deserved rest would not last long. But he wasn't expecting to be woken up suddenly. He was expecting to be woken up by Maui or the sun shining down on his face.

_Definitely not Maui screaming at him to wake up because monsters were attacking the island._

Lea immediately snapped to attention, and sure enough, there were monsters there that Maui was trying and failing to fight because he had no weapon.

But as the redhead produced his Flame Liberator and began using melee attacks to attack the monsters, Lea couldn't help but remember where he's seen these monsters before.

There were Heartless – marine-themed – yes, but among them were Nobodies that he knew very well.

_Ninja Nobodies, to be exact._

Lea was able to kill all the heartless with no sweat. It was the Nobodies that he had problems with, as they were very fast-moving and using their cloning techniques to their advantage.

After one of them struck Maui on the arm – the same Nobody that Lea had just tried to chop down – Lea turned his Keyblade into his Chakrams, intent of getting all of them at once.

Maui watched in awe as Lea's fire dissipated. He apparently got stranded with someone who knew how to fight – and he was grateful for it.

"You're welcome," Lea spoke up, his back still turned towards Maui.

"Yeah, whatever," Maui muttered. "One of them cut me, y'know."

"I know, but it's not that bad, and I have something to help with that," Lea replied. "But first, I have something I need to make sure of." He then called out, "Larxene! I know you're there! Come on out!"

A cloud of darkness formed in front of the two males and out stepped a blonde woman in a black trench coat.

"Hello, Axel," Larxene greeted, twirling a Foudre between her fingers. "You look different."

"Funny, I was going to say the same thing about you." Lea noticed how Larxene's hand tightening around her Foudre. "Relax, Thunder, I just want to talk to you, rationally."

"Hmph! You say that as if you didn't just betray us. Again."

"I don't regret my choice to leave, Larxene," Lea shot back, confident in what he was saying. "Not one bit. Because I'm learning things about the world Xemnas always tried to keep from us."

"Oh yeah? Things like what?" Larxene sneered.

"Things like the fact that Nobodies do have hearts," Lea revealed to her. It was something that Xemnas had told them – a lie they were constantly fed, one that Lea continued to believe.

_Until Roxas showed up, plus the girl that always hung out with them._

She and Roxas were the ones who made him question everything, and it was also thanks to them that he was here right now.

"Don't tell me you actually believe that," Larxene shot back, obviously not buying it.

"I could say the same thing to you about all the lies that Xemnas told us," Lea said, feeling the fire within him burn up at all the mistreatment he received and how many of his mistakes cost him Roxas and the girl he couldn't remember well. Breathing heavily, he eventually calmed down and got to his point, "But that's all beside the point. What I really want to know is what this new Organization wants with Kairi. Marluxia mentioned Xehanort wanting her for something, but he didn't know what it was."

"Neither do I, Axel," Larxene replied, almost solemnly. "Master Xehanort's plans are kept classified from us. All he tells us is to antagonize her as much as we can."

"Why would he want that? He is aware of Kairi being one of the Seven Pure Hearts needed to keep the world in balance, right?"

"Maybe that's why, Axel," Larxene suggested. "Maybe he _wants_ to upset that balance. He did break the previous six Princesses of Heart after all."

Oh yeah. He heard the report from Mickey and Yen Sid. Cinderella, Snow White, Aurora, Alice, Belle, and Jasmine all had their hearts broken by Xehanort, _quite literally_.

"Does he want to do the same thing to Kairi?" Lea asked, the question aimed more at himself than at Larxene.

But Larxene answered anyways, "Who knows? All you need to know right now is that Her Highness is currently with the very light of this world. Let's hope they can safely get out of the storm that's headed their way."

Before Lea or Maui – who Lea honestly forgot was here with him – could respond, Larxene disappeared from their sight in a cloud of darkness.

There was an intense silence before Maui took the plunge and spoke up.

"Friend of yours?" The other man asked, as if he knew the answer.

"You could say that," Lea replied, handing Maui a Hi-Potion. "Drink this. You'll feel better."

"You said your name was Lea," Maui pointed out as he took the bottle from Lea's hand, "and yet she called you Axel. Why?"

"It's a name she knows I regret having. I used to be one of them," Lea replied, before sitting next to the seashore, signaling the end of the conversation he didn't want to be having right now.

His time as Axel was just filled with regret. Yes, he met Roxas and that girl, but he let Roxas leave and was unable to save him in the end – albeit Roxas still technically being alive as Sora's Nobody – and he wasn't even able to remember the mentioned girl's name, or even what she looked like, or even what had happened to her. All he knew was that she looked very similar to Kairi for some reason – some reason he couldn't remember. Not to mention, he let himself grow distant from his very first friend Isa – now Saix and probably part of the new Organization.

"You're not alone," Maui softly spoke – probably the first serious thing he said since they first met yesterday. "Everyone has regrets. Even a demigod like me."

Lea felt Pluto rest his head on the redhead's knee in a comforting way. He immediately pet the dog as he thought about what Maui just told him.

Everyone had regrets, no matter if you were a demigod or just a regular person.

And maybe, Lea getting a second chance as, well, Lea wasn't such a bad thing after all. Maybe this was his chance to correct his mistakes and fix his regrets.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

When Kairi came to, again, she received a pleasant surprise – as well as a confusing one.

Her grandma was watching her rest, making sure and taking great care to ensure that Kairi was resting comfortably – like she always did.

_But her grandma was supposed to be gone._

"G-Grandma...?" Kairi muttered.

The old woman's familiar face then flickered to a face she didn't recognize. It was another old woman, but her appearance was very different.

"Yes, dear, my name is Gramma Tala," the stranger replied. Kairi immediately recognized her voice as the eldest of the two females who had saved her.

Kairi started, her face turning red at her mistake, "Oh, I-I'm sorry. I just–!"

"–mistook me for someone else?" Tala finished. Kairi bashfully nodded. Tala chuckled, "It's quite alright, dear."

"Thank you," Kairi muttered, before clearing her throat and speaking up, "Thank you for saving me."

"It's no problem, dear," Tala replied. "You may be an outsider, but it's not in our nature to let someone die from injuries from what we can only assume is a boat crash."

Actually, from a Gummi Ship crash, at least she presumed, but she couldn't say that. "Yeah, you could call it that." But she couldn't say much else without endangering the _'world order'_, as Donald called it.

"You are from another world, yes?" Tala suddenly asked. Kairi nearly jumped out of her skin – this woman was so on the mark after _'assuming'_ that Kairi had gotten injured in a boat crash.

But then she realized, by the look on the woman's face, that Tala already knew the truth – the real truth.

So Kairi nodded.

"I thought so," Tala replied. "The strange clothes you wear were a big hint."

"Yeah, I guess they would be," Kairi muttered in response, as she looked down, taking notice of her clothes – especially how different they were to the clothes she arrived here in.

Her current clothes were very similar to the style of clothing that Gramma Tala was currently wearing.

"If you are wondering where your clothes are," Gramma Tala suddenly spoke, as if she could read Kairi's mind, "they are currently being washed. My granddaughter has let your borrow her spare clothes while she washes them."

"Oh, alright," Kairi paused, before thinking of a question she wanted to ask. "Where am I?"

"You are on the lovely island of Motunui, our tribe's home for the past several generations." Tala paused, waiting for Kairi to ask another question.

The old woman wasn't wrong. Kairi was currently feeling the fabric of her skirt – which was a red color, which was the same fabric as her bandages, but her top – which was a white color – was a different material. "What is this fabric, if I may ask? It's interesting, to say the least..."

"Your top is called _'pandanus'_, and your skirt is called _'tapa'_. Both are made from trees found here on the island," Tala replied. "And your injuries aren't life-threatening. Our healers have agreed to you walking around when you feel up to it."

"Okay," Kairi said, before repeating, "Again, thank you for your hospitality."

"It's nothing, dear. My son, Chief Tui, was rather hard to persuade to let you stay, but my granddaughter and daughter-in-law teamed-up and managed to convince him."

"He doesn't like outsiders?" Kairi asked.

"He's rather protective of his tribe," Tala corrected. "He just doesn't want anything to happen to them, especially not his wife and daughter. So, don't take it personally if he's distant towards you."

"Okay, I won't," Kairi promised, to herself more than Tala. "I remember you and a girl saving me. Was the girl with you–?"

"–My granddaughter? Yes," Tala answered with a gentle smile. "She's very eager to officially meet you."

"Why?" Kairi asked, without second thought. "I'm nothing special."

"You and her are connected," Tala answered, calmly. "I know that and I think she does as well. She just doesn't know how. I am also intrigued by this connection."

Suddenly the tapestry hanging from the roof moved to the side and a dark haired girl wearing the same style of clothes as Kairi entered the hut.

"Hey, Gramma," the girl said. Kairi immediately recognized her voice as the girl who saved her along with Gramma Tala here. "I'm all done with my chores. How's our guest?"

"Awake and well, dear," Tala replied, pointing over to Kairi. "And just as excited to meet you as you are her."

The girl turned to their red-haired guest, and the former's face immediately lit up into a smile when she saw Kairi's blue-violet eyes staring back at her.

"Oh, hello!" The girl immediately kneeled beside Kairi. "My name is Moana, the daughter of the village Chief."

"Hello," Kairi couldn't help but return Moana's smile. "I'm Kairi. It's very nice to meet you."

Kairi and Moana were indeed connected. Even if Moana and Gramma Tala didn't know what that connection was, Kairi was sure that it was because Moana was one of the New Hearts, just like Rapunzel and Kairi herself.

Moana was a fellow Princess of Heart.

"It's _**wonderful**_ to meet you," Moana replied in excitement. "You're from beyond the reef. You can tell me what's out there."

"U-Umm...yeah, I am, but..." Kairi paused, clearly hearing Donald's voice lecturing her and Lea not to ruin the _'world order'_. "But I'm not exactly sure I can tell you about the outside world." Moana's face fell, and Kairi immediately felt guilty and she quickly, but calmly, added, "Not everything, at least."

Because just like Rapunzel, Moana wanted to find herself, and being stuck on an island your whole life – or in a tower in Rapunzel's case – does not help matters at all.

Kairi knew how both of them felt. She knew there were other worlds out there, due to being an outsider on Destiny Islands too, despite having a severe case of memory loss regarding her life in Radiant Garden. She's never told Riku or Sora, or anyone else on Destiny Islands, but over time, Kairi slowly began to get her memories back – even if they were a bit blurry and foggy – through mainly nightmares.

Even if she didn't want to go back to Radiant Garden – though it would be Hollow Bastion currently – Kairi still wanted to explore other worlds, and especially find out why she survived when no one else in Radiant Garden did, as well as who that blue-haired woman was and why Kairi felt so safe with her and why she felt a surge of power when she touched her weapon – which Kairi now knew for certain was a Keyblade.

She had so many questions that she needed to be answered, so when Riku suggested that they build a raft to reach those other worlds, Kairi immediately agreed – even if the trio now knew for certain that a raft would have gotten them nowhere.

Rapunzel had questions and thanks to Flynn, Lea, and Kairi herself, she got answers to those questions, simply by being exposed to the outside world, just like Kairi. And the redhead was certain that it was going to work out that way for Moana too.

"Actually..." Kairi mentally apologized to Donald, "ask any question you want, and I promise I will answer it with complete honesty according to my knowledge."

And Moana's smile was back.

Gramma Tala left the hut with a smile on her face, leaving the two girls alone, as Moana started asking Kairi every question she had.

That foreigner was going to change Moana's life forever. Both she and her son knew that well, but while Tui was convinced that it was a bad thing, Tala knew for certain that it was a good thing.

Kairi's heart was filled with nothing but light, just like Moana's. There was a reason she was brought here.

And Tala beleived that she – Tala herself – knew what that reason was.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Over the next week, Kairi felt very welcome on Moana's island of Motunui. She had gotten her original clothes back but had taken to the clothing style of the people that had taken her in – so she was only wearing her tank top, her skirt, and her shorts. Moana's mother, Sina, had officially welcomed Kairi to the island by giving the girl a lei.

Yet despite all the warm hospitality, Kairi could tell that Chief Tui was making sure that Kairi was never alone, all by herself. That meant that she could not get enough alone time to make a call to Lea – to make sure he was still alive and where he was – or the other Guardians – to give them a status report. As such, she was essentially stranded here.

_What was she waiting for?_

Well, she was already asking so much of these people just by being healed by them. Asking for a boat to sail out and find Lea, or even a bit of privacy to contact one of the other Guardians, was a bit too much in Kairi's book.

Besides, Gramma Tala seemed to know something that Kairi and Moana didn't. She and Moana didn't seem to want Kairi to leave the island just yet. So, Kairi had decided to stay.

As well as the fact that she and Gramma Tala – her current _'guide'_ – just saw Moana try to sail a simple canoe with Pua – her pet pig – and saw them both go under. Pua shortly surfaced, but Moana took a while to come up, worrying the redhead a great deal.

When Tala and Kairi reached the shore to check on them, Moana seemed intent on hiding her left foot from the duo with a weak smile on her face.

"Whatever just happened, blame it on the pig," Tala simply commented.

Tala simply used her cane and lift Moana's foot to her eye level, and Kairi immediately winced at the bruise that was evident.

"Gramma," Moana said before wincing. "Are you gonna tell Dad?"

Oh yeah. Chief Tui was very against sailing for some reason. Moana knew what that reason was, but Kairi didn't, and she was curious.

And Moana had just tried to sail to other islands beyond the reef.

"I'm his mom. I don't have to tell him anything," Tala replied with a smile.

"He was right," Moana sounded depressed. "About going out there. It's time to put my stone on the mountain."

"Okay," Tala said, as if it was no big deal. "Well, then, head on back. Put that stone up there."

"Why aren't you trying to talk me out of it?" Moana asked.

"You said that's what you wanted," Tala replied, as she started humming along to the cultural dance she was now doing. Kairi felt naturally impelled to join her, and that's what she did.

"It is," Moana confirmed.

"When I die," Tala hummed, as she led Kairi in the steps, "I'm going to come back as one of these." The old woman pointed to the manta rays surrounding her in the water. "Or I chose the wrong tattoo." She motioned to her manta ray tattoo on her back.

"Why are you acting weird?" Moana asked, as she watched the two dance.

"I'm the village crazy lady. That's my job."

"Moana's right," Kairi finally spoke up when she felt comfortable enough. "You know something that we don't."

"Exactly," Moana added. "If there's something you want to tell us, just tell us." She paused, before nervously adding, "Is there something you wanna tell us?"

"Is there something you two want to hear?" Tala asked.

Both girls nodded, and so Tala stopped her dancing and led the two youngsters to a cave.

"What is this place?" Moana asked, Kairi curious about the same thing, both girls looking into the cave. "I've never been to this section of the island before."

It reminded Kairi of the Secret Place, almost. Expect this one seemed to hold a lot more mystery within its walls.

"First, there is something Moana must discover first," Tala revealed. "You've been told all our people's stories but one."

"What?" Moana asked, clearly surprised.

"Do you really think our ancestors stayed within the reef?" Tala asked. What came to Kairi's mind was the fight between Moana and her father about whether or not to fish beyond the reef.

Apparently, something was going on with this island. Their crops would not grow healthy and the fish had all left the reef.

Moana felt it necessary to go beyond the reef, but again, Chief Tui was adamant on making sure no one stepped foot on those canoes.

The three heard strange sounds within the cave, like rumbling, grunting, gasps, and wind whooshing.

"What's in there?" Moana asked.

"The answer to the question you keep asking yourself," Tala said, rather cryptically. "Who are you meant to be? Go inside, bang the drum, and find out."

As Moana went inside the cave, Kairi turned to Tala, who had started dancing again. And once again, Kairi felt unnatural not joining her. There was just something about Tala that attracted Kairi to her, just like her own grandmother, who she dearly missed right now.

"So who exactly do I remind you of?" Tala asked.

Kairi took a moment to mourn her guardian, before quietly but honestly responding, "The woman who raised me, my grandmother."

"She was the one who told you the truth about the world, didn't she?"

Where was Tala getting at? Why did she want to know all this? "Y-Yeah. She used to tell me a story about the light, but since everyone loved it so much, they all began to fight over it. So, darkness was born in their hearts, and the darkness spread until every heart and world were swallowed by it. But the light survived in the hearts of children, and through them, the various worlds were rebuilt, the universe that we live in now. But the true light now sleeps deep within the darkness, and that's why all the worlds are still scattered," Kairi paraphrased her grandmother's story, still unsure why she was telling Tala this story, when she was still hesitant on reciting that story to Sora and Riku. She then repeated the words her grandmother spoke so many years before, "_'But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open, and the true light will return. So, listen, child. Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you. Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you.'_"

Tala then surprised her by uttering the following words with her, "_'Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away.'_"

"_'May your heart be your guiding key'_," Tala finished, as Kairi looked at the old woman in shock that she knew the very words of her grandmother's story. "Sounds like your grandmother was a very wise old woman."

"You knew her story," was all Kairi could mutter. "How?"

"Again, I'm the village crazy lady," Tala replied. "I know a lot of things. And your grandmother is right. Your greatest weapon is your heart."

"And that's the advice you're trying to give Moana," Kairi realized. "Isn't it?"

Tala only nodded, as Moana rushed out of the cave, repeating over and over, "We were voyagers! We were voyagers!" Moana's people were voyagers? Then why was Chief Tui so against sailing beyond the reef? Fortunately, Kairi wasn't the only one curious. Moana then followed up with, "Why'd we stop?"

"Maui," Tala replied. "When he stole from the Mother Island, darkness fell. Te Ka awoke. Monsters lurked and boats stopped coming back. To protect our people, the ancient chiefs forbid voyaging. And now we have forgotten who we are. And the darkness has continued to spread, chasing away our fish, draining the life from island after island."

"This island," Moana muttered.

Tala wasn't done, "But, one day, someone will journey beyond our reef, find Maui, deliver him across the great ocean to restore the heart of Te Fiti." Tala then turned to Moana and Kairi, placing a green gemstone in the former's hands. "I was there that day. The ocean chose you, Moana, and brought Kairi to you for this very purpose. That's how the two of you are connected."

"I thought it was a dream," Moana muttered, while Kairi looked out at her namesake.

The ocean _**chose**_ Moana? Was the ocean alive?

"Nope!" Tala replied. "Our ancestors believed Maui lies there," she pointed to a constellation in the form of a fish hook, "at the bottom of this hook. Both of you, follow it, and you will find him."

_But Kairi needed to find Lea! She couldn't do the ocean's bidding right now!_

"But why would it choose me?" Moana asked. "I don't even know how to make it past the reef." Something right then seemed to click in Moana's mind, "But I know who does!"

Moana pulled Kairi to the village.

Kairi understood why. As a fellow Princess of Heart, Kairi immediately felt better within the light of another Princess, and she was certain that Moana felt the same way. It just didn't feel right when the two were separated.

And Kairi trusted Moana to know where the latter was going, but she couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding darkness on the horizon.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Chief Tui was currently holding a village meeting, discussing the mystery of what was happening to their island and current way of life.

"The crops are turning black," one villager said.

"What about the fish?" asked another.

"This is happening all over the island," informed a third.

"Please, please, settle down," Tui tried to keep the peace.

"What are you going to do?" the first villager asked.

"We will dig new fields," Tui relied. "We will find a way to-"

Just then, his daughter rushed in, the foreigner not far behind her, "We can stop the darkness! Save our island! There's a cavern of boats. Huge canoes. We can take them, find Maui, make him restore the heart. We were voyagers! We can voyage again! You told me to help our people. This is how we help our people."

Kairi took one look at Tui's face and could tell that Moana had crossed a line. The man stormed out of the hut in a huff towards the cave Moana was just in, Moana very close behind.

"Dad? What are you doing?"

"I should've burned those boats a long time ago!" Tui shot back.

"No! Don't! We have to find Maui. We have to restore the heart!" Moana pleaded, holding up the green gemstone.

"There is no heart! This-This is just a rock!"

Kairi's world, in that moment, seemed to fog up as Tui and Moana were arguing. Not emotionally, but physically.

_Something was here. Something dark._

A horn blew, and then a voice sounded, "Chief, it's your mother! She's been attacked by monsters!"

_Which meant Heartless._

Kairi followed her instincts, the first one being to leave Moana with her father – even if he was angry, because she would be safer with him right now – and head back into the village. The second one was producing her Destiny's Embrace – which she had been very careful not to do during the week she was here, even though it wasn't all that hard, considering things were pretty peaceful up until now. The third was to tell everyone to stay away from the monsters and leave it all to her – which was a great choice as well as a big mistake.

A great choice as she was able to easily beat all the small Heartless – Marine Heartless to be exact – by using a simple Fira spell.

A big mistake, thought, in thinking she could beat the boss Heartless, because it was a humanoid and small, yes, but it was very powerful, as it was able to rebound Kairi's first strike back at her, sending the redhead flying backwards – fortunately, nothing. It was also very fast, because it gave Kairi literally zero seconds to pace herself and get back up.

Feeling a fierce pain in her chest, Kairi struggled to get up, as an annoying voice began lecturing her about the mistakes she just made.

Why did you just attack it head on? Why didn't you form a plan first? Why did you attack it alone? Why did you forget your training? Seriously, did you learn _**anything**_?

This just proves that Lea is the better fighter between the two of you.

A blonde haired woman then appeared from a Corridor of Darkness as the Heartless Kairi was getting beaten by stood by the former, as if the duo were master and servant.

The woman was wearing a black coat just like Marluxia. That meant that she was part of the new Organization XIII, the thirteen Darknesses that Xehanort had at his disposal.

"Greetings, Princess Kairi," the blonde woman said, a kind-of sick twisted smile on her face, as if she enjoyed seeing other people in pain and agony. "My name is Larxene. We haven't met before."

"Why did you attack this village?" Kairi demanded. This heartless had been apparently sent by Larxene, or the Organization as a whole, and had attacked Gramma Tala – whose injured body was slumped against a nearby palm tree with Sina, Tui, and Moana kneeling next to her, trying to get her to wake up. "Why are you here at all?"

"I suggest you take that up with Master Xehanort," Larxene shot back. "He's one the one pulling the strings. All of them, including yours."

That last sentence left a bad taste in Kairi's mouth. _'Including hers'_? "What does he want with me?"

"That's a secret, Your Highness," Larxene replied, holding a finger up to her mouth. "Anyways, take careful notes of this particular Heartless." She motioned to the Heartless beside her, which was twitching while glaring at Kairi, as if it was itching to keep fighting her, but wasn't allowed to. "It really likes you. But be warned. That's not the only Heartless in this world you need to watch out for."

Kairi dropped Destiny's Embrace and summoned Ever After instead – as it had a boost in strength and a major boost in magic, "Why are you doing this?!"

"Because it's more fun when we have two pure lights at our mercy," and in that moment, Larxene disappeared from the scene via a Corridor of Darkness – and thankfully, the Heartless went with her.

Kairi dropped to her knees, letting Ever After disappear in a flash of light. Tala got hurt because of her. She needed to go after Larxene and that Heartless – she needed to defeat that Heartless.

"Kairi?" She heard Moana softly call out.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, as a tear fell on the sand. "I'm so sorry..."

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Kairi was quick to point Moana's attention – and the other villagers' – to the now dying Gramma Tala.

Tui knelt beside his mother's death bed, with Sina and Moana in the same room, with Kairi standing in the door frame.

"Mother, what can be done?" Tui asked.

Tala ignored her son and instead focused on her granddaughter, "Go."

"Gramma..." Moana muttered, kneeling next to dying grandmother.

"Go."

"Not now. I can't," Moana said.

"You must!" Tala said, putting her seashell in Moana's trembling hand. "The ocean chose you and brought Kairi to you. Both of you must go and follow the fish hook."

"Gramma..." Moana muttered, as Kairi, with tear-filled eyes, left the hut and headed off to the hut where the rest of her clothes were stored.

"And when you find Maui, you grab him by the ear," Tala continued, apparently not noticing Kairi slink off. "You say, _'I am Moana of Motunui. You will board my boat, sail across the sea, and restore the heart of Te Fiti'_."

"I-I can't leave you," Moana's voice broke trying to utter those words.

"There is nowhere you could go that I won't be with you," Tala gently replied.

Moana whimpered, her own tears falling, as she and her grandmother shared one last hongi.

"Go!" was Tala's last word, as she closed her eyes for good.

Now outside of the hut, with her grandmother dead, Moana was at a loss for what to do next. She owed it to Gramma Tala to restore the heart of Te Fiti, the object that was still in her hand. But her island needed her. She was the daughter of the chief, after all, and the one who would succeed him after he retired. She needed to stay here, but the ocean was calling her.

_Her grandmother was calling her._

A blur of pink flashed out of the corner of her eye and she quickly turned her head to see Kairi running towards the beach, fully decked out in the clothes she came here in.

_**'The ocean chose you, Moana, and brought Kairi to you for this very purpose. That's how the two of you are connected.'**_

Fortunately, Kairi was halted by the ocean – more specifically by the fact that she had no way of traversing the vast and treacherous ocean – so Moana easily caught up with her, and got her attention by grabbing her wrist.

"Kairi, where are you going?" Moana asked, standing at Kairi's side, but the latter did not spare a glance in the former's direction.

"To stop that Heartless," Kairi solemnly replied. Her vocal tone caught Moana off-guard. It seemed as though the redhead was emotionally tired out. How she spoke now was like she was emotionally dead, as compared to an hour earlier, when she helping the various villagers and learning about the culture and traditions.

Kairi had seen someone precious to her die before – or something along those lines – hadn't she?

"I will avenge Gramma Tala for you," Kairi vowed, still not glancing in Moana's direction, instead only looking ahead of her, her facial expression frozen in apathy – which deeply disturbed Moana. Seeing any form of apathy on Kairi anywhere did not sit well with her, because despite knowing each other for only a week, Moana could already tell that Kairi was a very emotional person. So she was definitely concerned. "I promise."

"Let's go together," Moana swallowed before suggesting this, and mentally breathed a sigh of relief when Kairi turned to Moana, clearly surprised by her suggestion.

"What? No! It's too dangerous! The Heartless are everywhere!" Kairi objected immediately.

"If what Gramma Tala said is true," Moana gently grabbed Kairi's shoulders to steady her, "that the ocean brought us together for a reason, then let's stick together and find out what that reason is." Kairi didn't say anything, seemingly sensing that Moana wasn't done, or more likely that she was still unsure about what to do. "Besides, we need each other. You know how to fight off those monsters and I have a boat that I know how to use. Well, sort of. Anyways, it just makes sense to stick together."

Kairi paused. Moana made a good point. They did work better as a team.

"Okay," Kairi finally agreed after a moment of silence and thinking. "But be ready to face Heartless like the ones earlier."

"Right."

Moana then led Kairi to the hut where food – mainly fruit – was stockpiled. The two girls began filling a few baskets with fruit, as Moana stated that they would need food for the long journey ahead.

The duo was interrupted by Sina entering the hut, and they were suddenly frozen in fear, unable to predict what Sina would do.

But they were surprised when the woman kneeled next to them and started helping them prepare for their trip. Once everything was prepared, Sina gave Moana a seemingly farewell hug.

"Good luck," Sina told them. "You two go do what you have to do."

"Thank you," Moana and Kairi replied in unison, before Moana led Kairi to the cave from earlier.

There, the two loaded a canoe fit for two people, and burst through the waterfall to find the open ocean on the other side.

After the boat went over the first wave, first going past the reef, both Moana and Kairi caught sight of a bright blue manta ray, and both of them immediately thought of one person.

_Gramma Tala – who had showed both of them her manta ray tattoo on her back._

The duo watched her spirit swim forward in the direction of the fish hook constellation - the way to Maui.

Tala wasn't gone, not really.

She was still here, still intent on making sure they knew who they were and to ensure they were going the right way.

Kairi softly smiled as Moana sailed on.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

After the two found Heihei – Moana's pet rooster – hitching a ride with them, and soon after easing Heihei's fear of finding himself out in the middle of nowhere and surrounded with only water, Kairi quickly discovered that Moana's experience with sailing was, um, not a whole lot.

Which made sense. Chief Tui, her father, didn't let Moana go past the reef, so her experience was rather lackluster.

After being startled awake by an ocean wave – which Kairi was mildly startled by, because it seemed that the ocean did indeed have a mind of its own – Moana accidentally flipped over the boat. After which a storm rolled in and, after Moana asked the ocean to help them, the two got separated from each other.

At least, that's what they thought, as by the next morning, both of them woke up next to each other on the beach of the same island, their canoe stuck sideways in the sand not far away from them.

"Whew! We're alive!" Moana breathed a sigh in relief after making sure the heart of Te Fiti was still in her locket – it was.

"And still together," Kairi added, before Moana stood up in a huff, seemingly mad about their current predicament.

"Um...What?!" Moana yelled at the vast body of water. "I said help us! And wrecking our boat? Not helping!" Moana aimed a kick at the ocean, which moved out of the way, easily avoiding the kick and making Moana slip and fall down. But this only made her angrier as she scrambled back to her feet. "Yeah? Well, fish pee in you all day! So..." Moana then grunted at the ocean in frustration and anger.

"I don't think getting mad at the ocean is going to help us," Kairi muttered.

"I said to help us, not strand us," Moana said, Heihei clucking as a coconut on his head blocked his view, making him bump into a rock over and over again.

"I'm sure there's a reason," Kairi attempted to look on the bright side. "And if there is no point, then we'll just fix the boat and continue on our way."

Moana sighed, "Fine." But it was here that she glanced over at Heihei and saw some strange marks on the wall behind him – tally marks in the form of fish hooks, and lots of them.

_Then it all clicked._

"Maui?" Moana asked the ocean, which nodded before going back to normal. After seeing a large human-like shadow coming towards, she gasped, "Maui!" Moana grabbed Heihei and pushed Kairi behind their sideways boat to hide. Moana then began to whisper, reciting what she would say to Maui, "Maui, demigod of the wind and sea, I am Moana of Motunui. You will board my boat. No. You _**will**_ board my boat. Yeah. I am Moana of Motunui. You will board my..."

"Boat!" sounded an unfamiliar male voice, as the boat was lifted up, revealing Moana and Kairi to this person. "A boat! The gods have given me a..." This is when the man noticed the two girls in front of him. Screaming, he dropped the boat on top of them.

"What happened?" came another voice that Kairi found familiar, but he was far away, so he was nowhere in sight.

"Umm?" The boat was lifted to reveal Heihei's legs sticking out of the sand.

Moana cleared her throat, and the larger man of the two turned around to find an oar and a strange looking, flower-covered weapon in his face.

"Maui," Moana began, "shapeshifter, demigod of the wind and sea, I am Moana of–"

"Hero of men," the larger man – apparently Maui – interrupted.

"What?"

"It's actually, Maui, shapeshifter, demigod of the wind and sea, hero of men," Maui corrected. "I interrupted. From the top. Hero of men. Go."

"I am..." Moana began again.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Maui interrupted again. "And women. Men and women. Both. All. Not a guy, girl thing. You know, Maui is a hero to all. You're doing great."

"What? No! I'm here to..."

Maui interrupted Moana once again. "Of course. Yes, yes, yes. Maui always has time for his fans." Maui took Heihei and used his beak to autograph Moana's oar. Handing Moana's oar back to her, Maui made a little joke, "When you use a bird to write with, it's called tweeting." Moana and Kairi shared a glance of annoyance and disbelief with each other, as Maui mistook their glance for something else, "I know, not every day you get a chance to meet your hero."

Kairi pointed her Destiny's Embrace directly at Maui's throat, so close that they were touching, as Moana frustratingly lectured the demigod, "You are not our hero! And we're not here to get autographs! We're here because you stole the heart of Te Fiti!" Moana quickly opened up her locket to show him the heart and quickly closed it. "And you will board my boat, and sail across the sea and put it back!"

"You stole a heart?" came the second male voice. Kairi glanced past Maui to see a familiar form with red Spike hair, and smiled.

"Lea!" Kairi called.

"Princess?" Once Lea confirmed that he and Pluto – who just barked – had reunited with Kairi, he asked, "What's your beef with Maui here?"

"Long story, but let's just say that he made a mistake in the past that he needs to make up for," Kairi summarized.

"By stealing a heart?"

"Yep," Kairi replied. "A heart that just so happens to belong to very powerful goddess." Pluto growled.

"Te Fiti," Moana corrected, "the Goddess of Life and Fertility. You stole her heart, Maui, so you must put it back!"

"Um..." Maui glanced around the scene. "Yeah, it almost sounds like you don't like me, or in the very least, like Spike there more than me, which is impossible because I got stuck here for a thousand years trying to get the heart as a gift for you mortals. So you could have the power to create life itself. Including the fact that I saved Spike's life a week ago. So, what I believe you were trying to say is _'thank you'_."

"_'Thank you'_?" Moana repeated.

"You're welcome," Maui winked.

"What? No, no, no!" Moana mumbled. "I didn't...I wasn't...Why would I ever say that? I mean..."

Kairi spoke up, "By stealing the heart, Maui, you unleashed a terrible darkness that is killing crops and making it impossible to capture fish – making it impossible to live life at all! And you have the nerve to say _'you're welcome'_!"

"Okay, okay, look," Maui paused everyone's thoughts. "I've done a lot for you mortals. I pulled up the sky, I gave you fire, I lassoed the sun, I harnessed the breeze, I pulled up islands from the sea, I even gave you coconuts by killing an eel and burying its guts. All the tapestries on my skin is a map of the victories I win. Okay? I've done just about everything for you!"

Lea raised an eyebrow. "So, you're willing to look past the fact that life is dying due to this goddess not having her heart? And it's all your fault?"

"Well, in order to restore Te Fiti's heart, you gotta go through a whole ocean of bad. Not to mention Te Ka," Maui replied. "Lava monster? Ever defeat a lava monster with that weird weapon of yours?" He asked Kairi.

"It's called a Keyblade," Kairi replied. "And no. No lava monsters, but Lea and I do have experience with dealing with other enemies."

"Oh yeah, you mean those black creatures with yellow eyes? And those wiggly, silver creatures?" Maui asked Lea.

"Heartless and Nobodies respectively, and yep," Lea corrected before confirming.

"Whatever," Maui shrugged them off. "I'm not going on a suicide mission with mortals. You guys can't restore that heart without me and me says no." Heihei clucked as Kairi sighed in frustration as she lowered her Keyblade. "I'm stealing your boat and getting my hook. End of discussion."

Maui set Moana and Kairi's canoe in the water, placed Heihei and Pluto on it, and began to sail away.

Lea began to panic, especially when he noticed that Moana and Kairi weren't panicking as well. "Aren't you guys going to get that boat back?" he asked.

"No," Moana replied. "Because we've got a rather surprising ally."

Unsuspectingly, the ocean wrapped itself around trio waiting on the shore and carried all three of them and dropped them all safely on the boat in front of Maui.

Maui stood up in disbelief, "I...did not see that coming."

Lea turned to Kairi. "Did the ocean just...?" Kairi nodded. "I knew I saw something that night. So the ocean did nod at me." Lea saw the ocean use a wave to nod at him again. "So, the ocean's on our side. That's good to know."

"Yep," Kairi confirmed. "Or rather, it's on Moana's side. It chose her for a reason."

Maui was still in shock and disbelief that the ocean was actually a sentient being. He shook his head, saying, "Alright, I'm out," and he leapt off the boat, but the ocean merely responded by putting him back on the boat. "Oh, come on!" He yelled at the ocean, which merely spat at string of water in his face.

"You'd be a hero," Moana suggested to Maui. "That's what you're all about, right?"

"Little girl, I am a hero."

"Maybe you were," Lea cut in. "But now? Now you're just the guy who stole the heart of Te Fiti. The guy who cursed the world. You're no one's hero."

Maui scoffed. "No one?"

"But...if you put this back," Moana said, showing Maui the green gemstone that was Te Fiti's heart, "you'd save the world, and you'd be everyone's hero."

She and Kairi then leaned in, whisper-chanting, "_'Maui! Maui! Maui! You're so amazing!'_"

"I'd imagine that's what they'd say," Kairi added.

"We'd never make it without my hook. Not past Te Ka," Maui said. "Not even with your weird swords."

"Keyblades," Lea corrected.

"Whatever."

"Then, we get your hook," Moana said. "We get your hook, take out Te Ka, and restore the heart. Unless you don't want to be Maui, demigod of the wind and sea, hero to all."

"Fine," Maui agreed. "We get my hook, then save the world."

"All of us," Kairi added.

"All of us," Maui agreed. "It's a deal."

"Yes!" Moana cheered.

"Okay, first we need to go east," Maui informed them, taking over the sailing. "To the lair of Tamatoa. If anyone has my hook, it's that beady-eyed bottom-feeder."

The boat went over a wave. They were on their way.

Moana glanced around, not sure if she should be on the sidelines. "Teach me to sail," she said to Maui, who apparently chose to ignore her. "My job is to deliver Maui across the great ocean. I should be sailing."

"It's called wayfinding, Princess," Maui corrected, perching himself on the roof to take a good look at the horizon. "And it's not just sails and knots. It's seeing where you're going in your mind. Knowing where you are by knowing where you've been."

As Maui climbed down, Moana was not happy at Maui's nickname for her. "Okay, first, I am not a Princess." Except she kind of was – a Princess of Heart to be more exact. "I am the daughter of the chief."

"Same difference," Maui shrugged her off.

"No, actually," Kairi cut in, "it's not."

"If you wear a dress, and you have an animal sidekick, you're a princess," Maui told Moana and Kairi both, referring to Heihei and Pluto. "You are not a wayfinder. You will never be a wayfinder, you will never be a–OW!"

Kairi had hit him in his shoulder with the hilt of her Keyblade.

"What was that for?!" Maui demanded.

"Moana comes from a tribe of voyagers, but she has no idea how to sail, or wayfinding as you call it, because she was never taught how," Kairi informed. "She wants to know, but no one will teach her. So, teach her."

Maui turned to Moana, who was holding her oar with an expectant smile on her face. After a moment of silence, he sighed, "Fine. Lesson one."

Moana cheered, as Lea and Kairi watched Maui teach Moana all about wayfinding.

But Lea had become concerned and had been since he and Pluto reunited with Kairi.

His fellow Guardian of Light – and training partner – used to have blue-violet eyes filled with emotion - whether it be happiness, sorrow, or just general curiosity about the other worlds the two were now allowed to explore.

_But now?_

Now, she just seemed dead in the eyes. Something had happened to Kairi during the week they were separated. And Lea couldn't help but wonder what that was.

"You're measuring the stars, not giving the sky a high-five," he heard Maui tell Moana.

He was thankful that Kairi was still alive, and he could tell that Pluto was too – as evidenced by Pluto wagging his tail as Kairi pet his head. But seriously, what happened to her? Why was she so dead in the eyes?

Larxene did tell him that Xehanort told them all to antagonize Kairi as much as possible. Did Larxene do this? If so, what exactly did she do?

He needed to fix this, to prevent Kairi's heart from breaking, literally.

"If the current's warm, you're going the right way," he heard Maui inform Moana, about wayfinding.

As Kairi's current partner, and the only person who knew what was going on, that was his duty - to make sure all seven Princesses of Heart were alive and well enough to protect the worlds, and Kairi was one of those seven.

Besides, she had become a rather close friend, as she was willing to look past his mistakes as Axel – which included him kidnapping her – and extend an olive branch. He owed it to her to look out for her.

_Especially since Riku had prior commitments and Sora physically could not._

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Moana screamed upon waking up from her nightmare. Kairi's face was directly above, worry etched in her eyes.

"You okay?" Kairi asked.

Moana shakily nodded, as Maui spoke up, "Enjoy your beauty rest? You know, a real wayfinder never sleeps, so they actually get where they need to go."

"Besides, we're here," Lea motioned his head to the island the group was sailing to.

"You're sure this guy's gonna have your hook?" Moana asked, as Maui docked the boat onto the beach of this new island.

"Tamatoa? Oh, he'll have it," Maui replied. "He's a scavenger. Collects stuff. Think it makes him look cool. And for Tamatoa, trust me, my hook is the coolest collectible."

"And he lives up there?" Lea motioned to the top of the mountain.

Maui chuckled, "No, no, no. That's just the entrance, to, um, Lalotai."

While Kairi and Lea were confused, Moana gasped. "Lalotai? Realm of monsters?" She cleared her throat. "We're going to the realm of monsters?"

"We? No. Me. You three are going to stay here with the other chicken." Maui chuckled again, this time at his own joke. Heihei clucked, seemingly in confusion.

Until Pluto started barking, bringing everyone's attention to the sudden appearance of more Marine Rumba Heartless, a rather large group of them emerging from the ocean.

Before Moana or Maui could respond, Lea and Kairi both stepped in front of them, Flame Liberator and Ever After summoned and ready to go.

"Go get your hook," Lea told Maui. "We'll handle these guys."

Maui seemed unsure about what to do, but was quickly caught off-guard by Moana running past him and beginning to climb the mountain.

"Okay!" Maui called back, beginning to climb the mountain after Moana. "Try not to die!"

And with this, Lea and Kairi readied their Fira spells and attacked the water-based Heartless head on.

Kairi found it easy to dodge their attacks, while Lea was annoyed by how many there were.

"I really hate these things," Lea called, as he struck down two in one swing.

"So do I," Kairi called back. "_**Fire!**_" Three Heartless fell to her Fira spell, as she continued her mid-battle conversation with Lea, "But we have to, and it's good practice for our fire spells."

"True," Lea agreed, before activating his fire based Shotlock – _**Flame Salvo**_ – which enabled him to take out roughly half of the group of Heartless they were fighting.

"Nice job!" Kairi called, before activating her _Faith_ spell by calling out, _**"Light!"**_ – which easily took out the rest of the group, leaving no Heartless left.

With no other enemies in site, the two put their Keyblades away, and finally got a chance to talk about the main question they were wondering about.

"So, what happened to us?" Lea asked.

"I don't know," Kairi confessed. "The Gummi Ship crashed, but I have no idea where or what caused us to crash. But I do know that we were separated and brought to Moana and Maui intentionally by the ocean."

"Why?"

"No idea," Kairi said softly. "I'm still trying to figure that out."

Lea paused, before bringing up something he noticed and needed to make sure of, "Moana...she's one of the New Lights, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Kairi confirmed.

"But that's not the reason you're traveling with her, is it?" Lea asked.

Kairi paused – Lea hit a nail on the head apparently. "No. Moana's grandmother...she was killed by a Heartless that I couldn't defeat. I'm going with Moana to ensure to her grandmother that she was right, that Moana and I were indeed brought together for a reason."

"You feel responsible, so you're trying to redeem yourself," Lea summarized.

"Yeah," Kairi replied. "Spot on."

"I know," Lea admitted. "Because I know how you feel." Kairi smiled at his words, as Pluto – with Heihei perched on his head – sat next to Lea, content with how calm things now were. "Now, we just need to defeat Te Ka, restore the heart of Te Fiti, and then find and recover our Gummi Ship."

"That last part is probably going to be the hardest," Kairi said, yawning as she heard Namine call out to her for some reason. "If you don't mind, I need to take a quick nap."

"Okay," Lea replied, and immediately after, Kairi blacked out, preparing herself for whatever Namine wanted to talk about.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Kairi's Heartscape~**

Kairi came to in a field of blossomed flowers, a clear blue sky with the sun shining down on her, and Namine gently stroking her auburn locks as they rested in the blonde's lap.

Despite them being the same person, Kairi found immense comfort whenever she was with her Nobody. Perhaps, it was _**because**_ they were the same person that Kairi was sure she couldn't live without Namine, even after Namine finally got her own body.

Kairi's eyes met Namine's, and the blonde gently smiled.

"We've been watching you, Kairi," Namine said. "You're doing great."

"I could do better," Kairi muttered, thinking solely of the Heartless that she couldn't defeat, how she let that Heartless kill Gramma Tala, and how Lea was the one who defeated Marluxia in Kingdom of Corona.

"Mistakes are how we learn," Namine gently replied. "You're doing very well for your first time fighting."

"Thank you," Kairi said, softly, almost as though she believed she didn't deserve Namine's complements. The silence that followed allowed her to backtrack on Namine's opening words. "Wait a minute..._'we'_?"

Namine's smile did not falter. She simply nodded and helped Kairi sit up. "Yes," Namine replied, "_'We'_. I'm not alone here at the moment."

As Kairi stood up, she took in the appearance of four other people standing beehind Namine.

There was Roxas, in his Organization coat. There was a male who looked exactly like Roxas, but with different clothing – his heart was also void of darkness, like hers, but felt incomplete. There was a female who looked exactly like _**her**_, but with black hair.

She'd need to get the stories of the last two later – as well as their names.

But there was the fourth person standing rather quietly, almost nervously, and Kairi didn't need a moment to process who it was. She already knew the moment she laid eyes on him.

_Besides, with Roxas here, it should've been obvious._

"_SORA!_" He stumbled backwards as she immediately pounced and wrapped him in a tight embrace, clearly happy to see him again.

He chuckled as he returned her embrace, "Hey, Kairi. Sorry for the sudden intrusion." Sora, once again, felt lighter and a less suffocated in Kairi's arms.

The hug ended – and the moment ruined – when Kairi gently smacked him upside the head. "Where have you been?! Everyone's been worried sick about you!"

"I know, and I'm sorry," Sora replied, being honest about his apology. He didn't mean to make everyone panic over him. "I've been here with you the entire time."

"The entire time?" Kairi felt flattered – did Sora really view her as a safe haven? Then she remembered the dream she had. "Then the dream I had, rather strange one, I might add...was just three separate memories...memories belonging to you three," she said, turning to Roxas and the two strangers that looked like her and Roxas.

"Yeah," the other her replied. "That was us. We've never met, Kairi. I am Xion."

"Ventus," the other Roxas followed. _One of the three Keyblade wielders she and the other Guardians were tasked to find and save._ "You can just call me Ven."

"Xion and Ven," Kairi repeated. "Okay. Though, it's going to be rather hard to tell you and Roxas apart."

"Yeah, there's a story for that," Roxas replied. "A rather long one, too."

"But don't worry," Xion told Kairi. "We know you're interested in that story and a few others, like how Ven and I got here, but unfortunately, they'll have to wait."

Ven said. "But you'll find out soon enough."

"Besides, that's not why we summoned you here," Sora said. "We called you here, Kairi, because we're worried about you."

"Worried? Why?" Kairi asked. She had a feeling she knew what they wanted to bring up, but she didn't want to admit that just yet.

"We've been watching everything through your eyes," Namine finally spoke up. "And we've all noticed a significant change in you ever since Gramma Tala died."

_Yep. She knew it. Of course that was what they were referring to._

"Why was that so personal to you?" Sora asked, finally, with the question all five of them wanted to ask.

Kairi paused, leaving an intense silence in her wake. Sora took quick notice of her facial expression – Kairi was not smiling at all, not even her eyes, which were now dull with sorrow.

And he was curious as to why.

"Sora, there are a lot of things you and Riku don't know about me," Kairi finally replied, her voice matching her facial expression.

"I'm sorry," he said, feeling guilt over not noticing how bad she was feeling all the time.

"Don't be," Kairi said, sending him a small, apologetic smile. "That was what I wanted. I wanted a simple life, with my two best friends, without any worries, even if that meant pretending to have amnesia about my entire past in Radiant Garden."

"You lived in Radiant Garden?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, with my grandma," Kairi replied, before correcting herself. "Well, with the woman who raised me. I'm adopted, Sora, as in I don't know who my real parents are. Grandma took me in when I was a baby, and I stayed with her until Radiant Garden fell and became what we now call Hollow Bastion." She paused again, before speaking up again, "Gramma Tala reminded me of Grandma, especially how I never got to say goodbye to her. That's why I hate being left behind, because _'what if they lied about the reason they left'_ mixed with _'what if they don't come back'_."

"I'm sorry, Kairi," Sora mentally slapped himself for not thinking of anything better to say. All this time, he left Kairi behind on Destiny Islands because he believed she would be safer there than with him and Riku fighting to save the worlds and he truly believed that she didn't mind – when, in fact, she really did mind, but chose not say anything, because she knew that saving the worlds took precedence over making her feel better. "The reason I left, Kairi, and took refuge here was because I was tired of being tired, emotionally. Everyone has expectations of me, and I guess all of that stressed me out to the point where it's become a magnet for Xehanort's darkness."

"So, you sought refuge with me?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah," Sora replied. "I've always felt safe with you, Kairi."

Kairi smiled. "Stay as long as you need to, Sora. Don't worry. I'll protect you." This was her chance to pay him back for safeguarding her heart against Ansem two years ago.

Sora returned her smile instantly, "And we'll protect you from the forces you can't see, Kairi. All five of us."

"Okay," Kairi replied. "I need to get going. But I'll talk to you guys later. I promise."

And Kairi faded in a cloud of sparkles.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Motunui~**

Kairi woke up right on time to witness Moana and Maui returning, by popping up from the ocean. The two Keyblade wielders rushed forward to help the two back onto land.

"We're alive!" Moana cried. "We're alive–!" She cut herself off with a gasp.

Lea and Kairi were confused, until they both looked at Maui and Lea barely managed to nip his laugh in the bud.

Maui had human feet, with a shark head. He turned to Moana, "Listen, I appreciate what you did down there."

"Mm-hmm," Moana replied.

"Took guts."

"Mm-hmm."

"But..."

"Mm-hmm."

"I'm sorry. I'm trying to be sincere for once, and it feels like you're distracted," Maui replied.

_**"How does he not notice?"**_ Kairi heard Roxas ask.

"No, no," Moana stuttered with a smile. "No way!"

"Really?" Maui asked. "Because you're looking at me like I have a..." He finally took notice of his appearance, and gasped before sighing, "...shark head."

Lea was still trying not to laugh, while Kairi merely smiled, as Moana chuckled, "What? Do you have a shark head?"

"Look," Maui finally got out what he wanted to say. "The point is for a little girl, child, thing, whatever, who had no business being down there, you did me a solid. But you also almost died. And I couldn't even beat that dumb crab. So, chances of beating Te Ka? Bupkis. We're never making it to Te Fiti. This mission is cursed."

"It's not cursed," Kairi quickly said.

"Shark head," was Maui's reply.

"Kairi's right," Moana said as she picked up Maui's hook. "It's not cursed." She place Maui's hook in his hands.

The three watched as Maui turned into a starfish, then a beetle, then a lizard, then a fish, and then a rooster – just a bigger version of Heihei.

Maui groaned, before turning back into a human. He sighed in relief, before falling and discovering that his legs were now a shark tail. "Cursed."

Lea and Kairi shared a glance of concern.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

"_What can I say except we're dead soon~_" Maui, lying down on his back, lightly sang as the group continued to sail that night.

"Can you at least try?" Moana asked Maui.

Maui glanced over at the other three, and without getting up, touched his hook, saying, "Giant hawk."

He turned into a pig, a fish, a lizard, before going back to his human form.

"_Hey, it's okay, it's okay, we're dead soon~_" Maui continued to sing.

Moana and Kairi shared a glance of concern, before Kairi summoned her Keyblade and gently hit Maui on his head, "Alright, break time's over. Get up."

"Why?" Maui asked as he sat up. "Are you gonna give me a speech? Tell me I can beat Te Ka 'cause I'm _'Maui'_? Take a hike, Tiny."

"How do you get your tattoos?" Moana asked.

"They show up," Maui replied. "When I earn them."

"How'd you earn that one?" Moana continued to ask, as she pointed to one on his back. "What's that for?"

"That's man's discovery of Nunya," Maui replied.

"What's Nunya?" Moana asked.

"Nunya business," Maui turned his back to them, signaling he was done talking.

"I'll just keep asking," Moana said. "What's it for?"

"You need to stop doing that," Maui warned.

"Back off."

"Just tell me what it is."

"I said back off!" Maui said, as he threw Moana off the side of the boat.

"Hey!" Lea cried out. "We just want to help!"

"Easy, Lea," Kairi muttered, as the ocean gently placed Moana back on the boat. "Is it why your hook's not working?"

Silence.

Moana broke it, "You don't want to talk, don't talk. You wanna throw me off the boat, throw me off. You wanna tell me I don't know what I'm doing, I know I don't. I have no idea why the ocean chose me or brought Kairi to me, or why it brought Lea to you. You're right. But my island is dying, so I am here. It's just us four. And we want to help but we can't, if you don't let us."

More silence, but this time it was obvious that it was because Maui was debating on whether or not to open up to them.

"I wasn't born a demigod," Maui finally replied. "I had human parents. They, uh...They took one look and decided they didn't want me. They threw me into the sea, like I was...nothing. Somehow, I was found by the gods. They gave me the hook. They made me Maui. And back to the humans I went. I gave them islands, fire, coconuts." He chuckled. "Anything they could ever want."

"You took the heart for them," Lea added. "You did everything for them. So they'd love you."

"It was...never enough," Maui replied.

"Maybe the gods found you for a reason," Moana said. "Maybe the ocean brought you to them because it saw someone who was worthy of being saved. But the gods aren't the ones who make you Maui. You are."

"She's right," Kairi added, her following words not just for Maui, but also for Sora. "And it's okay if you don't feel one-hundred percent all the time. It's okay to feel weak. Because it's from those moments that we learn how to rise up and become stronger than before."

"Yeah," Lea followed up. "We all have regrets, but it's entirely up to you to redeem yourself."

"Okay, okay, I get it, guys," Maui rolled his eyes, but it was obvious he appreciated their words. He glanced down at his hook.

The sun rising on the horizon, Moana and Kairi both tensed up with hope and mentally cheered with Lea when Maui finally picked up his hook.

Maui rolled his hair up in a bun, as Lea motioned to little tattoo-Maui to turn into a beetle as an example for the human Maui to follow.

In a short flash of light, Maui turned into a beetle. He cheered, before Heihei swallowed the beetle-Maui in his mouth. The other three panicked, Pluto included, while the rooster had no idea what he just did.

Maui transformed again, back into a human again, with Heihei's beak wrapped around his finger.

Tattoo-Maui transformed into a lizard, and human-Maui followed suit. Heihei landed on his back and was quickly launched off into the ocean.

Moana shook her head as the ocean gave Heihei back to her.

Turning back into a human, Maui leapt off the boat with style and crashed into the water. After a moment, Maui – now a shark – leapt out of the water, before turning into a hawk and flying away.

Moana, Kairi, and Lea watch him fly around in circles, weaving between the rocks up ahead. A couple of times, he transformed back into a human and used his hook to slice a rock before turning back into a human.

"Yeah!" Moana cheered, as the trio watched him.

_**"Looks like he got his mojo back,"**_ Kairi heard Xion comment. Kairi herself giggled in reply.

Maui flew back to them, and stopped in front of them, before turning into a giant whale. The wave he caused by crashing down into the ocean soaked the trio to the bone.

Turning back into a human, Maui safely landed on the boat and fist-bumped his tattoo-mini-me.

Pluto tried to stop Heihei from walking off the boat, but failed.

But the ocean, clearly irritated by this brain-dead rooster, easily caught Heihei and placed him in a basket and placed that basket in the inner compartment. After making sure that compartment was sealed tight, the ocean wave shuddered in agitation before going back into the larger body of water.

Lea shook his head, humored by the rooster.

_**"That chicken is going to be the death of you,"**_ Kairi heard Roxas say.

_**'Rooster,'**_ Kairi mentally corrected. _**'And I'm positive that Heihei's best qualities are beneath the surface.'**_

_**"You see the best in everyone, don't you, Kairi?"**_ Ven asked her.

_**'Of course I do,'**_ she replied. _**'Even roosters that are obviously stupid. Everyone has light within them. With some people, it just takes time to find it.'**_

"Next stop, Te Fiti!" Moana cheered, handing the oar over to Maui.

Maui took the oar, but after a brief moment, he handed it back to Moana, who took it with joy.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

It was still daytime, and the group was still sailing, but the sky had gotten darker with clouds of smoke and ash.

Maui had turned to Moana with a smile.

"What?" Moana noticed.

"I figured it out," Maui said. "You know, the ocean used to love when I pulled up islands 'cause your ancestors would sail her seas and find 'em. All those new lands, new villages. It was the water that connected 'em all. And if I were the ocean, I think I'd be looking for a curly-haired non-princess to connect with two red-haired warriors and start that again."

"That is literally the nicest thing you've ever said to me, to us," Moana replied. "Probably should have saved it for Te Fiti."

"I did," Maui replied. "Moana of Motunui, I beleive you have officially delivered Maui across across the great sea." He then leaned in and whispered in Moana's ear, "_'Moana! Moana! Moana! You're so amazing'_!"

Moana chuckled, as Kairi suddenly felt an extreme wave of darkness start rising from the ocean. Noticing her discomfort, Lea placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It's time," Maui said, and as Lea and Kairi summoned their Keyblades.

Moana took Te Fiti's heart out of her locket and handed it to Maui, "Go save the world."

"Come on, Spike!" Maui said. "Let's do this!" He then turned into a giant hawk and flew away after letting Lea jump on his back.

From the cloud of smoke and ash came a fireball that Maui barely managed to dodge. But the fireballs kept coming, and when the third one hit – dead on – Lea realized that his Flame Liberator had the ability to absorb these fireballs without the threat of getting injured.

Moana and Kairi watched Maui and Lea dodge and block the fireballs, getting closer and closer to their goal.

But as Maui and Lea approached the dark cloud, lightning sparked within it, causing Moana to gasp and Kairi to tense up, both in worry and anticipation in what was to come.

And they were right. Te Ka immediately rose up from the cloud and the wave of darkness immediately washed over Kairi again.

"You okay?" Moana asked her.

"Te Ka..." Kairi muttered through her staggered breathing – it was getting harder and harder to do that at the moment – and revealed, "She's a Heartless."

"The same one that killed my Gramma?" Moana asked.

"No," Kairi sniffed. "A different one."

Te Ka swiped at Maui and Lea, causing them to fall out of the sky.

"Maui! Lea!" Moana cried out, and immediately turned to sail the boat.

Maui managed to catch the green gemstone before turning into a hawk again, but he barely managed to catch Lea on his back before Te Ka hit both of them again, making the two fall into the sea below.

Once the two males were underwater, Te ka leaned forward to attack the two girls as well. However, her arm slipped and made her entire left arm – the one that slipped – harden with rock. Te Ka screamed as if this action just hurt her.

"She can't go in water..." Moana muttered. She wasn't the only one that noticed.

"We still have a chance. _**Blizzara!**_" Kairi cried, pointing her Keyblade at the lava-type Heartless. This caused Te Ka's entire being to temporarily freeze in ice, giving Moana enough time to steer the boat and give Maui and Lea enough time and access to climb aboard – via Maui using her shark body to push Lea into the boat first before turning into a fish and climbing aboard himself.

Kairi's ice spell didn't last long, however, as Te Ka was able to use her lava-being to unfreeze herself.

But as Kairi was plotting her next move, Moana noticed an opening in two rocks and quickly steered the boat to head in that direction, just as Te Ka was warming up for another round.

"What are you doing?!" Maui asked Moana.

"Finding you a better way in!" Moana answered.

"We won't make it!" Maui said.

"Yes, we will!"

"We need to retreat and regroup!" Lea agreed with Maui. "Turn around!"

"No!"

"Moana, listen to them!" Kairi's input was a gentler than Lea's and definitely a lot softer than Maui's. They did have a point, but that was no reason to be rude to Moana.

"No!" Moana ground out. "We can make it!"

"WATCH OUT!" Kairi cried out, as she held up her Keyblade and Maui held up his hook, just in time for both of them to simultaneously collide with Te Ka's fiery fist.

The shockwave that occurred because of this forced the boat back several miles.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

They must've blacked out, because when Kairi came to, it was nighttime and the sky was clear.

"L-Lea," Kairi coughed, hoping her partner was still alive, because she just remembered what made their Gummi Ship crash.

"Y-Yeah?" Lea stuttered back.

"I think I remember what made us crash," Kairi began, and she didn't have to finish.

Lea finished for her, "Te Ka. We ran into her upon arriving here and she separated us."

"Yeah..."

Heihei clucked as Pluto whined from waking up after the sudden impact.

Moana stood up, "Are you okay? Maui?"

Maui turned to face them and presented them with a shock.

His hook was heavily damaged.

"I told you to turn back," Maui told Moana. "We all did."

"I thought we could make it," Moana replied.

"_'We'_?" Maui repeated, increduously.

"I thought I could make it," Moana corrected herself. "We can fix it."

"It was made by the gods. You can't fix it!" Maui revealed.

"Next time, we'll be more careful," Moana turned to Kairi for support.

"Te Ka was stuck on the barrier islands. She's lava, so she can't go in water," Kairi gently replied. "We at least have that going for us."

"Exactly," Moana added, clearly happy that Kairi was still on her side. "We can find a way around."

"I'm not going back," Maui said.

"We still have to restore the heart," Moana said.

"My hook is cracked," Maui shot back. "One more hit, and it's over. It's not like your Keyblades."

"Maui, you have to restore the heart," Moana objected.

"Without my hook, I am nothing."

"That's not true!" Moana vehemently replied.

"Without my hook, I am nothing!" Maui repeated, this time yelling.

"We're only here," Lea spoke up, "because you stole the heart in the first place."

"No," Maui objected, "we're here because the ocean told you all that Moana was special and you believed it."

"Moana _**is**_ special!" came Kairi's outburst. "And that's _**me**_ talking! Not the ocean!"

"Sorry, but..." Maui turned to Kairi, "I think you've been tricked."

Before Kairi could say a word, Moana loudly spoke up, "I am Moana of Motunui. You will board my boat..."

"Goodbye, Moana," said Maui.

"...sail across the sea..." Moana's voice got softer and slower.

"I'm not killing myself, so you can prove yourself you're something you're not!" Maui cried.

"...and restore the heart of Te Fiti!" Moana finished. "The ocean chose me!"

"They chose wrong," was all Maui needed to say before turning into a hawk and flying off.

"Maui!" Moana yelled after him, but he did not turn around. "I'm sorry, Kairi. I'm sorry, Lea," she began to cry, tears dripping down her cheeks. "I can't do it anymore." She turned to the ocean, "Why did you bring me here? I'm not the right person. You have to choose someone else." She held out the heart of Te Fiti that Maui handed back to her. "Choose someone else. Please."

The ocean took the green gemstone and let it sink beneath its depths.

"Where are you going?" Lea asked Moana, as she prepared the boat for a long journey back to her island.

"Home," Moana sniffed. "Are you coming with me, Kairi?"

Kairi softly smiled before shaking her head, "I promised you that I would find the Heartless that killed your Gramma and avenge her for you. And I never go back on my promises. Whether the ocean made a mistake or not, Lea and I both know you're special and that should be all that matters."

"Then why isn't it?" Moana asked them through tear-filled eyes. "Maui's right. I'm nobody special."

_**"You're a long ways past the reef,"**_ came a familiar voice. The three turned to a bright blue, glowing woman on the other side of the boat.

"Gramma?" Moana asked.

_**"Guess I chose the right tattoo,"**_ Tala chuckled.

"Gramma!" Moana cried. "I tried, Gramma. I couldn't do it. I let you and Kairi down."

_**"It's not your fault,"**_ Tala replied, as she wrapped her arms around her granddaughter's shoulders. _**"I never should have put so much on your shoulders, and you and Kairi are so much alike, so I doubt she blames you for anything. If you are ready to go home, I will be with you."**_

Moana picked up the oar but stopped an inch away from the water.

_**"Why do you hesitate?"**_ Tala asked.

"I...I don't know," Moana muttered.

_**"I know a girl from an island,"**_ Tala began another of her stories. _**"She stands apart from the crowd. She loves the sea and her people. She makes her whole family proud. Sometimes the world seems against. The journey may leave a scar, but scars can heal and reveal just who you are. The people you live will change you. The things you have learned will guide you. And nothing on Earth can silence the quiet voice still inside you. And when that voice starts to whisper, 'Moana, you've come so far', Moana, listen, do you know who you are? Perhaps a certain red-haired stranger will know."**_

Tala had turned to Kairi, knowing that the latter knew exactly how she and Moana were connected. This was her cue, so Kairi turned to Moana and said, "Out there, Moana, among all of the worlds I told you about, are seven pure hearts that darkness cannot reach and are responsible for safeguarding the light of the entire universe. You and I are among those seven. The ocean did choose you, Moana, and brought us together for a reason. And that reason is this moment, right now. Now...do you know who you are?"

"Who am I?" Moana repeated. "I am a girl who loves my island, and a girl who loves the sea. It calls me. I am the daughter of the village chief. We are descended from voyagers, who found their way across the world. They call me." More bright blue spirits appeared, this time, people on boats just like Moana's. "I delivered us to where we are! I have journeyed farther! I am everything I've learned and more! Still it calls me! And the call isn't out there at all. It's inside me. It's like the tide, always falling and rising. I will carry you all here in my heart. You remind me, that come what may, I know the way. I am Moana!"

Lea and Kairi felt joyful tears in their as Moana dove back under the surface, and when she surfaced, all the spirits were gone, but in her hand, she held the heart of Te Fiti.

Kairi held out her hand and Moana took it, letting the redhead pull her back onto the boat.

Before Tala disappeared, she had taken off her locket – a mirror of Moana's – and had given it to Kairi in the form of a keychain.

When Kairi placed the new Keychain on her keyblade, it became a Keyblade very similar in appearance to Maui's hook, but with ocean waves as its handles and a carving of a manta ray at the very top.

_Ocean's Call_ – with a boost in magic and a major boost in strength.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Several hours had passed, and during that time, as Moana had fixed their boat, Lea and Kairi had devised a plan.

Te Ka couldn't follow them in the water, so if they made it past the barrier islands, they would make it to Te Fiti. Sounded simple enough, but Lea and Kairi had been defeated by Te Ka twice now.

But this time, Moana was with them, with the heart of Te Fiti. All they had to do was protect Moana until Te Fiti had her heart back, at which time, they assumed that Te Fiti would take care of everything else from there.

But things were never that simple, so they had to be prepared for anything.

None of which Heihei understood, because he was a rooster. But Pluto did and when Kairi and Lea both told him to stay with Moana and protect her, he barked in agreement.

It was now morning; the trio had just reached the barrier islands, with Flame Liberator in Lea's hands and Ocean's Call in Kairi's. As the sky darkened, Moana rolled her hair up into a bun just as Te Ka emerged from the cloud of smoke and ash, definitely angrier than before.

Te Ka raised her hand to strike, but Moana easily steered the boat to the left before a hit was able to land. Te Ka, however, easily saw this coming, so she slammed her hand down where the trio were mere seconds before, but all she hit was water.

Her hand throbbing in pain from the water, Te Ka watched as the boat quickled sailed to the edge of the barrier islands she was stranded on. Screeching in anger, she threw a fireball – which missed the boat, but stopped them in their tracks – before crawling her way to the opening Moana had seen and was clearly heading towards.

Te Ka stopped when she got there, but thanks to the cloud of smoke that she had created she couldn't see anything.

When the smoke cleared, she quickly realized that Moana has used the smoke cloud as a diversion, and used this opportunity to go in the completely opposite direction.

Moana released the sail, gaining more speed, as Te Ka threw another fireball, this time at the opening she was currently sailing through, causing large rocks and pieces of earth to fall on top of them.

Lea easily absorbed all the lava that had been created and was falling thanks to the mentioned impact – so nothing would catch on fire – but he couldn't do anything about the falling debris.

One such piece fell right behind the boat as it sailed, and the wave it caused knocked Moana off her feet and freed the heart of Te Fiti from the locket it was being held in. The green gemstone rolled right off the edge of the boat.

"No!" Moana cried.

But Heihei lifted his head to reveal that he had caught it.

"Heihei! No, no, no!" She muttered as Heihei juggle the heart in his beak, before placing it safely back in Moana's hand. "Nice work!"

After placing it back in her locket, Moana was quick to realize that they had finally made it past the barrier islands. Te Fiti was just up ahead.

But Te Ka wasn't done with them yet. She re-emerged from the cloud of smoke and ash, causing a wave that made the boat fly forward and turn over, submerging all three of them.

Moana was quick to get out of the water and on top of their turned over boat. She grabbed a rope and pulled, trying her best to fix their situation.

Four Foudre hit the side of the boat, dragging Moana's attention away from Te Ka and over to one of the nearby islands, on which was standing Larxene – a twisted smile on her face, as if she were enjoying this.

"Look out!" Lea cried, bringing Kairi's attention back to Te Ka, who was stretching out a hand to attack them while they were vulnerable.

His Keyblade redrawn, Lea stepped in front of Moana, who cowered in fear, until a hawk screeched and flew past them. The hawk turned into Maui, who cut of Te Ka's hand – the one reached for them – and quickly turned back into a hawk and flew right back to the other three.

"Maui!" Moana cried in happiness.

Maui landed, as a human, on the boat that was flipped over. Lea took this time to inspect the Foudre that had almost hit them, instantly recognizing them as Larxene's.

"You came back," Moana said to Maui, who merely chuckled at them. "But your hook. One more hit and–"

"Te Ka's gotta catch me first," Maui replied.

Te Ka roared as she re-grew her missing hand.

"Maui," Kairi quickly said before Maui could take off again. "I need you to carry me over and drop me off on that island over there." She pointed to the island that Larxene was standing on.

"By yourself? With Larxene?" Lea asked.

"Yeah," Kairi replied, her face hard as steel. "Something's telling me to fight her."

Lea didn't have to ask. It seems he already knew.

"Of course, Princess," Maui agreed to Kairi's request. "Come on, Spike. Let's get Te Ka together." After Lea nodded in agreement, Maui then turned to Moana, and after flipping the boat back over, so it was the right way up, said, "We've got your back, Chosen One. Go save the world."

"Maui, Lea, Kairi..." Moana muttered. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Maui replied, before turning into a hawk again with a flash of light. With Lea on his back and Kairi hanging onto one of his feet, he flew over to the island Kairi had pointed out. Kairi easily let go once Maui got close enough, and she landed right in front of Larxene.

"So you're going to face me all by yourself?" Larxene asked, twirling a Foudre in her hand.

"I don't know you," Kairi began, a glare clear on her face, "but I feel in my heart that you are evil. You've hurt people, and I feel like you should pay!"

"Hmph," Larxene easily brushed her off. "Must be Namine talking."

_**"Don't underestimate us!"**_ Larxene was caught off guard by a very familiar voice talking in tandem with Kairi's. She looked past Kairi's appearance and easily saw Namine standing there. _**"Both of us will be fighting you!"**_

"So the lonely Nobody artist finally grew a spine," Larxene laughed. "Let's see just how far you've come, Namine!"

Kairi performed _**Quake**_, giving her the advantage, as she used one of the rocks that her spell had produced from the ground to climb over Larxene and attack the blonde-haired Nobody from above.

Larxene, however, was able to dodge thanks to her speed, and blocked Kairi's next attack. Kairi, though, was able to push back and land a solid hit on Larxene's torso.

Meanwhile, Maui flew up to Te Ka and turned into a whale. When he landed, it created a large wave that temporarily paralyzed Te Ka – thanks to it splashing on her – and allowed Moana to sail further and further to the island.

Te Ka made a move to attack, but realized quickly that Maui, as a shark, was hanging onto her finger and was chomping on it, Lea hanging onto him – fully aware of what Maui was planning.

Turning into a lizard, Maui and Lea both ran up Te Ka's right arm, around her shoulders, and down her left arm. Lea's boots and affinity to fire easily protected him from the heat, but Maui was feeling his feet burn up.

"Hot-hot-hot, hot-hot-hot!"

Te Ka's left fist closed around the two as they got to it, but they were easily able to escape. Maui turned into a hawk and flew up to Te Ka's right hand, allowing Lea to cut it off with his Keyblade.

Te Ka screeched in pain, as one of Larxene's Foudre cut Kairi's cheek.

Kairi was unfazed, however, and continued to charge and used her Keyblade to put Larxene on defensive and it easily tied Larxene's arms together as Kairi did to same with Larxene's legs by using her own to pin them down.

Kairi had one free hand, which she placed over Larxene's chest, where her heart was – or should be, according to Larxene – and immediately, memories of her past life flashed through her head.

Memories Larxene had forgotten. Memories belonging to a Somebody called _Elrena_.

Larxene stumbled back after feeling her chest pulse – like a heart – freeing herself of Kairi's bonds, and heavily breathed, trying to determine what that was, what had happened to her.

"Y-You..." Larxene mumbled, desperately trying to catch her breath. "Namine...you _witch_!"

Namine's powers had gotten stronger. She knew this because, at first, Namine could only use her powers slowly, over time – as evidenced by her taking at least a year to restore Sora's memories. This time, she was able to see Larxene's hidden memories immediately and use them against Larxene mere seconds later.

_**"Think what you want about me,"**_* Namine answered, using Kairi's voice with her own. _**"But I have a Keyblade now, and I plan on using it."**_

So, Namine had a Keyblade now, and it greatly enhanced her memory powers. That was good to know.

After a bright flash of light, Larxene glanced up to see Kairi in a white version of the clothes she was just wearing – instead of pink – with black highlights. She was floating, with two white-colored Keyblades folded behind her like wings.

Kairi knew for certain she had just activated something the fairies had built into her costume – like they had for Sora once before. They called it a Drive Form – _Final Form_ was what Kairi was using. But she was slightly confused on the Keyblades she was using.

One of them Kairi recognized as Roxas' Oathkeeper – the Keyblade she gave to Sora all those years ago, and the other – as Namine told her – was Namine's Chain of Memories.

Larxene stood no chance against Kairi's speed – which was used a couple times to completely disarm Larxene – as Kairi landed one final hit – _**Final Arcana**_ – on the Nobody. When she finally stood, she immediately dropped to her knees, knowing that had been defeated – evidenced by the darkness rising from her body.

"Are you kidding?!" Larxene demanded, hugging herself as if she was suddenly very lonely.

Kairi dropped her Keyblades to her side. "Don't worry," she said with a gentle smile. Namine was no longer talking with her. "You're going to be recompleted, just like Lea."

"Tch, I didn't ask for your garbage opinion, Your Highness," Larxene replied in a huff. "I lost! To a couple of losers like you and Namine! But..." She paused. "Could be worse. Become that old geezer's heart tank? No thanks."

"Sora..." He immediately came to her mind, as she was reminded that if Xehanort got his hands on Sora's heart, he'd been gone, just a shell of the Sora she knew. She shook her head to clear it. "Then why help him?" She asked.

"I was really just along for the ride," Larxene replied.

There was an evident part that she was leaving out. "With...?"

Larxene smiled at her – a real, gentle one – and put her finger up to her lips, "My secret. Take care of yourself and Namine. I have no idea what that old geezer is planning, but whatever it is, it rides on you losing your cool."

_'It rides on you losing your cool'_? Kairi, still in Final Form, was left to discern what Larxene meant, as the latter completely faded away in a cloud of darkness.

Meanwhile, Te Ka glanced around, unable to find her two opponents.

"Hey, Te Ka!" She heard Maui shout. She glanced over to find him and Lea standing on her right wrist, with Maui in precarious position. "Shark head~!"

With that, both Maui and Lea raised their Keyblades and chopped Te Ka's right hand off, but she was still able to knock them out of the hair – Maui as a hawk – both onto another nearby island - not the one Kairi was on. Maui glanced at his hook, or what used to be his hook, only to find it broken in pieces and now just a stub.

Kairi saw this happen and the fact that Moana wasn't at Te Fiti's island yet. She was the only one who had the power. So, she took the advantage of the fact that she could fly and flew over to the island Lea and Maui were now stranded on, just as Te Ka was growing her left hand back and a fireball in that hand.

Once she landed, she shouted, _**"Light!"**_ and called upon her _**Faith**_ attack. It blinded Te Ka, making her miss her target – Lea and Maui.

However, it was now headed straight for Moana.

"Moana!" Kairi cried.

The ocean raised a wave and took the hit for Moana, but the impact still sent Moana flying, right into the shore of Te Fiti's barren island.

Maui and Lea both breathed a sigh of relief. As Moana raced up the mountain, Kairi called, "Get the heart to Te Fiti!" before turning back to Te Ka.

_**'Namine,'**_ Kairi called out to her Nobody, hoping she would answer, as the two were currently merged. _**'Can you do what you did to Larxene to Te Ka?'**_

Namine replied, _**"Of course. Just use my Keyblade."**_

Kairi raised her left arm – the one controlling Chain of Memories – and threw the mentioned Keyblade straight at Te Ka's heart.

Immediately, a flash of memories appeared in Kairi's mind – memories of green, memories of flowers, memories of peacefully sleeping.

At the same time, Moana finally reached the top of the mountain, but got a shock when she saw and realized that Te Fiti was nowhere to be found. Instead, a large crater was in her place.

"Te Fiti...is gone?" Moana asked herself. She glanced back at Te Ka and saw the spiral on her chest that Kairi had just hit with one of her Keyblades.

_**'Te Ka...is a Heartless,'**_ she remembered Kairi saying once, as she glanced down at the heart in her hand.

In that moment, both girls realized the same thing.

Te Ka _**was**_ Te Fiti.

Maui tried to distract Te Ka by shouting in a foreign language, trying to initiate a hand-to-hand fight. Te Ka readied a fireball, but immediately stopped when a green glow shined in her face.

All heads turned to Moana, who was at the top of the mountain, holding up the heart of Te Fiti up over her head, producing a green light that shone from the mountain top.

As Moana walked back down to the shore, Maui stepped forward, "Moana! What are you doing?"

But Kairi stopped him. "Let her," was all she said.

At the shore, Moana glanced at the ocean, and ordered, "Let her come to me."

Immediately, the ocean split itself in two, created a land barrier that Moana could walk down.

Te Ka was surprised at this implication, because now, she was no longer stuck on the barrier islands. She roared in anger and crawled forward to Moana, who had simply stood on a rock.

"I have crossed the horizon to find you," Moana said to Te Ka. "I know your name. They have stolen the heart inside you, but this does not define you." Te Ka stopped right in front of Moana, who did not flinch. "This is not who you are. You know who you are." When Te Ka lowered her head to Moana's level, now calm and her lava skin less hot to the touch, Moana placed her forehead against Te Ka's – performing a hongi – and whispered, "Who you truly are."

"I know why the ocean chose Moana," Kairi said to Lea and Maui.

"Why?" Maui asked.

"Because only a Princess of Heart can restore a Heartless to their original form," was Kairi's answer, as Moana placed Te Fiti's heart back where it belonged – in the spiral on Te Ka's chest.

Sparks of green appeared on Te Ka's skin, causing it to crack. The pieces fell, revealed the very green Te Fiti in her stead.

It was then that Lea and Maui understood what Kairi meant.

"Te Fiti..." Moana happily muttered as the Goddess of Life sent her a smile.

Te Fiti formed a garland of flowers around her head and headed back to her resting place. As she passed Moana, the ocean gently lifted up Moana and her allies, who all watched as Te Fiti placed a hand on her old barren island, letting the green life flow back into the earth.

On the island now flowing with life, Moana, Kairi, Lea, and Maui were placed down by the ocean, with Pluto and Heihei quickly behind them. Once of the ground, Kairi transformed out of Final Form and back into her regular form.

Heihei clucked, despite landed on his stomach with his feet over his head, and Maui chuckled, "The chicken lives," as Lea knelt beside Pluto and rubbed the top of the dog's head, glad that Pluto was still alive. Kairi smiled at this – Lea and Pluto had become friends.

"I'm sorry about your hook," Moana said to Maui.

"Well, hook or no hook, I'm still Maui," he replied.

The four felt a light earthquake as Te Fiti lifted them up on her hand to her face level. Moana and Kairi immediately knelt to show their respect, with Lea and Maui following soon after.

"Te Fiti!" Maui gasped, suddenly seeming very nervous. He laughed sheepishly, "Hey, I mean, how you been?" Te Fiti's face made it evident that she was not amused, so he cleared his throat and bowed his apology to her. "Look, what I did was wrong. I have no excuse. I'm sorry." He glanced up to see Te Fiti offering him a new hook, and immediately gasped in muffled excitement, but he hesitated in taking it.

"You know, it'd be rude to refuse a gift from a goddess," Moana told him.

Maui immediately took it and cheered in victory, until Moana elbowed him. "Thank you," he calmly said to Te Fiti. "Your kind gesture is deeply appreciated." With that, Maui transformed into a beetle and flew off.

Meanwhile, Moana and Te Fiti shared one last hongi, before placing the trio on the sandy beach. Maui landed next to them, turning back into his human form.

Te Fiti released a flurry of flowers, which repaired and revealed both Moana's boat and Kairi and Lea's Gummi Ship.

Upon seeing their Ship, Lea and Kairi shared a relieved smile, both of them feeling better upon knowing they didn't have to search for their Ship themselves.

With her work done and her gratitude completely shown, Te Fiti gave the group one last smile before lying down and resuming her sleep.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

After placing some fruit in Moana's boat's cargo hold, Maui watched Heihei walk right into them. "Gonna miss you, drumstick."

"You could come with us, you know," Moana said. "My people are going to need a master wayfinder."

"They already have one," Maui replied, showing the trio of a new tattoo forming on his chest - a tattoo of Moana sailing her boat while holding the Ocean's Call Keyblade.

Moana turned to Lea and Kairi. "What about you guys? Are you leaving too?"

Lea nodded as Kairi sadly responded with, "Yeah, we are. There are other worlds out there that need our help."

"Oh..." Moana's smile lessened into a very sad smile. "I wish you were coming with me, at least," she said to Kairi.

"I want to," Kairi replied. "But I can't. That Heartless is still out there, and besides, I need to find the other pure lights and ensure their safety before I can visit you."

"But don't worry," Lea quickly added. "If this world is ever in trouble again, you can count on us to be there."

Maui stepped forward, holding out a medal, "And you guys ever need me, then just call me through this and I'll be there."

Lea took the medal from Maui. "See you, Maui."

"See you, Spike, Princess. And I'll see you out there, Moana."

"See you out there," Moana replied.

And with that Maui transformed into a hawk and flew away into the sun.

Lea was reluctantly to push Kairi to the Gummi Ship, but it had to be done. "Come on, Kairi. We have to go. The other New Hearts need us."

"I know," Kairi sadly replied, not breaking her eye contact with Moana. She then walked up to her fellow Princess and initiated the hongi – short yet sweet. "I'll always be with you, Moana, in here." Kairi pointed to Moana's heart. "Don't ever forget that."

"And I'm with you," Moana replied, watching through tear-filled eyes as Kairi, Lea, and Pluto climbed in their Gummi Ship and flew off into the sky.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Lanes Between~**

Donald and Goofy had been to all the worlds Sora had been to up until they defeated Ansem for the first time – still nothing.

Goofy sadly sighed in defeat. "I don't think we're ever going to find Sora's heart."

"What happened to you?" Donald asked. "You're the optimistic one here."

"I know," Goofy replied. "But Sora's heart could be moving from world to world. It's possible that we could be going on a wild good chase."

There was a sad, intense silence that followed.

"_'May your heart be your guiding key'_," Donald recited, using Yen Sid's words he always used when sending someone off on a mission. Just then, it was like something that clicked. "That's it!"

"What's it?" Goofy asked.

"Let's just follow our heart," Donald suggested. "We let Sora lead _us_ to _him_."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Goofy asked. "The Heartless could be following us."

"We can take 'em," Donald urged his friend to be more optimistic. "They're just small fry."

"True," Goofy said. "You do it, though. I don't think I can."

"Yeah, you go ahead and rest," Donald replied. Goofy was hitting his lowest of lows, and so he was right – there was no way Goofy could lead them down the right path right now. Maybe later, but not right now.

So Donald lifted his staff, and let his heart open a pathway.

"Huh," Goofy replied in response to the portal opening, as he checked the Gummi Ship's sensors. "We've never been here before."

"Maybe that's why we couldn't find Sora before," Donald suggested, as he flew the Ship towards the pathway.

As they entered, something appeared on the radar that surprised both of them

Another Gummi Ship.

_**To Be Continued…**_

_**!~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~3~~R~E~W~R~I~T~E~~!**_

A/N: Sorry that it's so long. I didn't feel like splitting it up into smaller chapters. While I am a big fan of Kingdom Hearts, I just recently got into the fandom. _**So if I get anything wrong, I'm sorry. Please, no flaming. Instead, just politely inform me in a PM or a review**_, so I can correct any mistake I make.

The second of the six new Hearts is _**Moana **_from Moana, and Kairi and Lea's first summon is _**Maui**_. Considering the _**Next World: Monsters, Inc./Monstropolis**_, I welcome any and all appearance for Kairi and Lea's monster forms (I already have an idea for Lea, but I'm wondering about whether or not to make Kairi's like Sora's in canon).

Before you ask, yes, I know exactly where I'm going with this story.

Also, if anybody has any ideas or questions, or even suggestions about where to take the story next, please PM me.


	4. Chapter 3: Meliorism

A/N: Here's the next chapter. Featuring: the world of Monstropolis!

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Disney in any way, shape, or form! I only owe an OC who will appear later in the story._

**Note:** I changed the cover of this story _**(see above)**_. It's what Kairi looks like in this story.

**Credit Where Credit's Due:** _Donald's and Goofy's monster forms are the same as in canon. Lea's monster form is credited to __**ienzo628 on DeviantArt**__, due to the fact that it matches his hair perfectly. Credit for Kairi's monster form is given to __**Dekared**__, who left a review last chapter that made up my mind, as well as some inspiration from Necho Cat (which is probably my favorite Dream Eater aside from Meow Wow). And Pluto's monster form is similar to Spyro, as some of his movements in the Reignited Trilogy resemble a dog's._

_**!~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~3~~R~E~W~R~I~T~E~~!**_

**Let Me Face My Fears**

**Chapter 3:** _Meliorism_

_**"The belief that the world can be made better through human effort."**_

**Previously on Kingdom Hearts:** _Kairi has activated her first Drive Form – Final Form, Namine has previewed her new Keyblade, Kairi and Lea now have their first summon – Maui, and Donald and Goofy arrive at a new world but quickly realize that they're not alone._

**~Monstropolis~**

Kairi was not expecting this.

She was expecting Lea to land the Gummi Ship and they'd be on their way to the world they had just entered, a world that needed their help. And they did that.

_How_ they needed help was still an unanswered question, but she was ready and expecting to find out.

She was not expecting another Gummi Ship to land right beside theirs. Nor was she expecting two weird looking creatures get out of that Gummi Ship and stroll right up to her, Lea, and Pluto as they got out of their Gummi Ship, as if they all knew each other and were friends.

Kairi drew Destiny's Embrace at the same time that Lea drew Flame Liberator and Pluto took a defensive stance, growling at them, and the two creatures drew their own weapons, a magic staff and a shield, in self-defense.

"What are you?!" Lea asked the two creatures.

"Excuse you!" cried the small, blue creature. It sounded familiar. "It's me!"

"Donald?" Kairi asked. She glanced over at the taller, green creature. "Goofy?"

"A-hyuck!" Goofy lowered his shield as he gave his signature laugh. "Yep, it's us. Hey, Axel. Hey, Kairi. Hey there, Pluto."

"Why do you guys look like monsters?" Lea asked, as the four all made their weapons disappear and Pluto took a calm stance.

"You guys look like monsters, too," Donald replied, before all five of them took a step back to evaluate their own and each other's appearances.

Goofy had all green skin and claws for hands and feet. His eyes were the scariest part about him, as they looked like they were no longer attached to his head and one eye was bigger and blue and the other was smaller and red.

Donald had all blue skin and no feathers, as his hands were now claws and his tail feathers were now a horn, and fangs were attached to his beak. He had one eye, bat wings on his back, and his webbed feet were now claws like Goofy's.

Lea resembled a humanoid bird. His skin was completely covered in red feathers, and his arms were now wings. He had a beak for his nose and mouth and his feet were like a bird's. Kairi briefly wondered if that meant that he could fly.

Pluto no longer resembled a dog, but a dragon. His skin, or scales, were still tan, but he how had green horns, green wings, and a dragon tail. And he could breath fire, the other four discovered, after Pluto sneezed and fire came out, burning the ground underneath to a crisp.

Kairi, on the other hand, looked the least threatening out of all of them. She was covered in pink fur, had no nose, and had retractable claws. Her hair was more leaf-like in appearance and she also had a fox tail. She also had cat ears, and her earrings had been replaced with miniature bells, as her signature necklace was now a choker with a bell on it.

None of them were wearing shoes, or shirts, or pants – with Kairi being the exception as she was still wearing her skirt. However, the jackets remained and those who had vanbraces – or gloves – still had them.

All in all, they looked like monsters.

"Why do we look like this?" Lea asked.

"It's because of my magic," Donald replied. "It really only kicks in when a world has special aesthetics, like this one."

"To blend in," Kairi said.

"Exactly," Donald replied.

"Okay," Lea got that. "But why? What kind of weirdos live here?"

_**"Kairi, could you ask them to take a few steps back?"**_ She heard Sora ask, sheepishly. _**"They're giving me the heebie-jeebies."**_

They were getting rather close. It was because they all realized who the others really were and had adjusted to their new looks. In response to this, Kairi took a step back herself, saying, "Do we really have to be so close to each other? You all look scary." Scarier than her, at least. She was a cat monster.

Donald looked irked off – probably at the fact that Kairi didn't look scary at all – while Goofy laughed, "A-hyuck! I think our new looks could turn out to be lots of fun!"

Kairi shrugged before turning around to take in the world around them. "Seriously, if _this_ is how we blend in here, then who lives here?"

_**"Who'd have thought you'd get so creeped out, Sora?"**_ She heard Roxas ask. _**"You deal with Heartless on a daily basis."**_

_**"Blame Riku,"**_ Sora replied. _**"He's the one who told us stories about monsters living in our closests and under our beds."**_

_**'And the kraken in the sea,'**_ Kairi added.

_**"Ugh! Don't remind me!"**_ Sora protested.

Kairi mentally giggled, before asking, _**'Do any of you know where we are?'**_

_**"Nope,"**_ Roxas said.

_**"Sorry,"**_ Xion apologized.

_**"Negative,"**_ Ven replied.

_**"I think I would remember visiting this world,"**_ came Sora's answer.

_**"All the more reason to explore,"**_ Namine made a good point.

_**'True.'**_ Kairi looked up at the writing on the building in front of her and read, "_'We Scare Because We Care'_?"

"Doesn't sound very caring," Kairi jumped when she heard Lea reply, very close to her, as his voice was right in her ear. He and the other three had joined her.

"Well, there's scaffolding over _'We Care'_," Kairi pointed out. "Maybe they're getting ready to change it."

"Or they already did," Donald added.

"If they look like us, then they could be trouble," Goofy said.

"There's only one way to find out," Kairi took command. "Let's investigate."

_**"You're so brave, Kairi,"**_ Sora said.

_**'Says the one who still believes Riku's stories,'**_ Kairi gently replied as she led the group into the building in front of them.

As they entered the building, Kairi, ever the clairvoyant, felt a sense of negative emotions – emotions that weren't their own.

_**"Be careful, Kairi,"**_ came Ventus' voice rather unexpectedly. He was quiet up until this point and Kairi couldn't help but wonder why.

_**'Ven, you okay?'**_ She asked, feeling worry from the other four hearts with her.

_**"I'm fine,"**_ Ventus replied. _**"Worry about yourselves."**_

There was something he wasn't telling them, but Kairi didn't press the issue, as she felt that it would be revealed later.

Besides, the building wasn't empty.

There were three other occupants in the room they just entered, a room that looked like a lobby with a receptionist desk in the center.

Two monsters, one big with blue fur and the other small, round, and green, were chasing little human girl, who was wearing a pink t-shirt, a purple skirt, and black socks, with her black hair in pigtails.

A wave of protectiveness surged through Kairi upon seeing this sight. Were they scaring her? Their motto from outside sure made it seem like it.

The human girl jumped into the arms of the blue monster and pointed behind it, at the group that had just entered, and said with a smile, "Boo!"

The blue monster turned around, surprised to see them. "Hmm?! I wonder who those guys are."

The small green monster seemed to be panicking. "What?! Careful, Sulley. If they see the K-I-D...!"

"It's fine," the other monster – apparently Sulley – replied. "We've got nothing to hide."

"But _you're_ the CEO!" the green monster drilled. "You have to set an example!" He then turned to the group and walked over to them. "Hey, guys, it's not what it looks like! That kid just popped up out of nowhere! We gotta call the CDA. It's a, uh...a Code 835!"

The monster jumped back when Kairi pointed Destiny's Embrace in his face, an angry look on her face. "Were you trying to scare her?" She asked.

"No!" The green monster replied, waving his hands _'no_'. "We're done with scare power. Nobody's scaring no one!"

Sulley called back to his partner, "Take it easy, Mike."

Goofy walked over to Kairi and placed a calming hand on her shoulder, "You should too, Kairi. Ya see? She's happy!"

Kairi lowered her Keyblade as she saw and heard the girl's laugh reverberate throughout the room. It was a laugh that made it evident that nothing was troubling the girl – a laugh that Kairi never had the privilege to make herself. So, she made her Keyblade disappear – this girl was sincerely happy being with these two monsters – and walked over to them, the other four following behind her.

She knelt in front of the girl, and waved, "Hi there. My name is Kairi."

"Mary Gibbs," the girl replied. "But you can call me Boo."

"'Boo'?" Lea repeated.

"Some time ago, five years her time," Sulley explained, "Boo found her way to our world. Since she was only two at that time, she couldn't talk very well, so we named her Boo, because that was just about all she could say. Now, she's seven, and she can talk normally, but-"

"_'Boo_' is stuck," Mike finished, and Sulley nodded.

Kairi giggled as she turned back to Boo. "Okay then, Boo. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, too," Boo replied, before pointing at Kairi's ears. "You look like a kitty."

Kairi's cat ears flicked in response to this, and the movement caused the bells attached to them to ring – Boo giggled at this.

Boo's heart had no darkness. Kairi could feel it – Boo was one of the New Hearts.

She turned to her companions and said, "Don't be shy. Introduce yourselves."

Lea's beak face spoke up next, "I'm Lea."

"Hold on!" Mike suddenly spoke up. "You guys aren't afraid of humans?"

Kairi shrugged, "Why would we be?"

Boo then pointed at Donald and said, "Mike Wazowski."

Donald stepped back in surprise and confusion, as Mike shook his head, smiling, "Okay, Little Miss Sassy Pants."

Donald protested, "What's going on?! I'm not Mike Wazowski! I'm Donald Duck!"

"It's because you both have a googly bear eye," Sulley explained, a smile on his face.

Donald turned to see his other three companions trying their best to stifle their laughs. "Hey! What are you guys laughing at?!"

Lea shrugged him off, saying, "People who don't get the joke are the people who are the butt of the joke. You need to loosen up, Donald."

"A-hyuck!" Goofy turned to Sulley and Mike. "I'm Goofy, and this is Pluto." Pluto barked his greeting.

"My name's Sulley," Sulley officially introduced himself. "And this is-"

"Oh, we know," Kairi smiled. "Mike Wazowski, right?"

The group all shared a laugh, until Boo gasped and immediately clung to Sulley's leg in fear.

"What's the matter, Boo?"

Pluto began barking angrily at something behind them, and Kairi took it as a sign to turn around. She was immediately met with the sight of small, black, wiggly creatures all over the lobby floor.

"Heartless!" Donald called, the four who could fight drawing their weapons and taking their individual battle stances.

Kairi thought back to when she met the woman in blue. She had saved Kairi by fighting off monsters just like these.

"I've seen these before," Kairi said. "They're not Heartless!"

"How do you know?" Lea asked.

"Heartless are just darkness. They're completely devoid of emotion or hearts," Kairi explained, "but these are filled with negative emotions." A Spiked Turtletoad joined the group, and Kairi noticed the emblem on its face. "Besides, that's not the Heartless's emblem."

"And you know that how?" Donald asked.

"The emblem? Because I can see it!" Kairi nodded to the big creature in front of them. "If you mean the emotions, it's because I can sense them. It's one of the side effects of being a Princess of Heart."

"If it's not a Heartless," Lea said, "then what is it?"

"And how come I feel like I mighta seen 'em before?" Goofy asked.

"Whatever they are, they're not friendly," Kairi once again took charge, before placing her free hand over her heart. She could feel anger that wasn't hers.

_**'Take it easy, Ven,'**_ Kairi gently said. _**'We'll stop them.'**_

_**"That's not why I'm agitated,"**_ Ven replied. _**"I know they can be stopped. It's who's controlling them that's bothering me. There's only one person who can."**_

_**"Who's controlling them?"**_ Roxas asked.

Ven didn't reply, and that greatly worried Kairi. It also worried the other four hearts within hers.

During all of this, Sulley went to the receptionist desk and placed Boo behind it. "Stay here where it's safe," he told her. "Kitty will be back."

Boo nodded and crouched down. Pluto joined her and she immediately snuggled into Pluto's scales for comfort. Sulley smiled and this and faced the direction of the monsters.

"Those guys are right, Sulley," Mike said. "This has got 'bad news' written all over it."

"Yeah," Sulley agreed. "We gotta keep Boo safe."

"Right," Mike said, before the two raced up and joined the four.

"What are you guys doing here?" Lea asked them.

"We're here to fight with you!" Sulley said. "This is our company!"

Kairi smiled before initiating the fight by activating one of her own original magic spells – called _**Tidal Shockwave**_. Kairi slammed her Keyblade into the ground, causing a tidal wave – of light that acted in a way similar to water – to be sent to all the enemies surrounding her in a circular pattern.

Meanwhile, Lea and Donald ran forward to take care of the Spiked Turtletoad. Donald sent a Thundaga spell its way. It stumbled, but it wasn't enough to take him out.

Goofy had to admit that these creatures were strong. It took quiet a few hits to take them out, even for Sulley and Mike, who were both using their claws because they had no weapon.

Pluto breathed fire at one who came too close to him and Boo, instantly killing it.

It long and arduous, but together, Kairi and Goofy attacked together – using a combo attack – and, alongside Sulley and Mike, got rid of the rest.

Meanwhile, Lea activated his Shotlock – _**Flame Salvo**_ – but the large creature still managed to get back on his feet.

Kairi saw this and stepped in with her own Shotlock – _**Spectral Ray**_ – and the bursts of light that ensued made sure the big one stayed dead.

With all enemies now gone and the area clear, the group now had time to determined what those creatures actually were.

"Nice, Sulley," Mike complimented. "Even with those extra pounds you put on."

"Heh, still runnin' circles around you, butterball," Sulley replied.

As Kairi put away her Keyblade, Boo and Pluto peered around the corner. "Are they gone?" Boo asked.

"Yeah," Sulley gently replied. "They are."

Boo breathed a sigh of relief, as Mike turned to the group. "So, any idea who those guys were?"

"Well, if they're weren't Heartless..." Lea trailed off, not sure what to say next.

"Hmm...It's on the tip of my tongue," Goofy said. "I remember the King told us somethin' about...what did you call 'em, Kairi? Nega-tive emotions?"

"Unversed?" Donald guessed.

"Oh yeah!" Goofy replied, completely sure that Donald was right. "Them!"

"Unversed...?" Kairi tilted her head in confusion – like a cat would.

"Can you two just pretend for a minute that Kairi and I don't know everything?" Lea asked Donald and Goofy.

Goofy was the one who replied, "A while back, the King fought a whole bunch of battles against 'em with the three missing Keyblade wielders, the ones we're looking for."

"Aqua, Terra, and Ventus?" Kairi asked.

"Yep," Donald replied. "The very same."

That didn't answer her question, though. What were they?

_**"They're negative emotions in monster form,"**_ came Ventus' voice, giving her the explanation she needed. _**"The ones you just fought are called **_**'Floods'**_**. They're the most common, but they're also the easiest to get rid of."**_

_**"How come you know all about them?"**_ Xion asked Ven.

Kairi answered for Ven after noticing that he was hesitating to reply, yet again, _**'Something tells me we're about to find out.'**_

She remembered Xion telling her that hers and Ventus' backstories would have to wait for another time. Perhaps this was the time to learn about Ven's.

"Still, how come the Unversed are showin' up now?" Goofy asked.

Donald turned to Mike and Sulley, who was holding Boo. "Is it because they use scream power?" He asked, tapping his foot in anger.

"Hey, I told you we're through using that!" Mike protested, and Sulley nodded in agreement. "Besides, we have no idea who or what you're talking about."

Kairi prepared to speak up, but then came across Donald's face, who whispered to her, "Order!"

She nodded before turning back to their friends, "Long story short, we've come from far away to get rid of those creatures causing trouble."

"Yeah, I guess you call us exterminators of sorts," Lea added.

"Just _how_ far away?" Mike asked, rightfully skeptical of their answer.

"As far as you can imagine," Goofy replied.

"Hmm..." Mike shared a glance with Sulley, before turning back to the group. "Okay, okay, let's just say we buy all that. Are those creeps dangerous?"

_**"Extremely,"**_ Ventus replied.

"Yes," Kairi relayed Ventus' answer.

"They've got a point, Mike," Sulley said. "Boo's a brave girl and they scared even her."

Mike sighed, before turning to Sulley, sadly saying, "Sulley, I know you've missed her, but it's time to postpone our play date."

"You're right, Mikey," Sulley agreed without second thought. "It might be years before we see you again, Boo, because time runs differently in your world, but it's time to get you home."

"Okay..." Boo sadly replied.

"What are you planning on doing?" Lea asked.

"As you could probably guess, Boo's from another world," Mike explained. "We gotta send her back there, to keep her safe."

"Okay, we'll come with you," Kairi said.

"What?" Mike asked.

"Well, the Unversed might try to cause more trouble," Kairi explained, "and we were sent here to protect Boo as well. So, we're coming with you."

"We were?" Goofy asked, obviously confused at the _'protecting Boo'_ part.

"Yes," Kairi said, before kneeling in front of Boo again. "Because Boo here is a very special little girl."

Boo giggled before running to the hallway that connected with the lobby. Sulley and Mike both playfully chased after her.

Meanwhile, Donald sighed in agitation, crossing his arms like she was sulking.

"What's wrong, Donald?" Kairi asked, standing up straight.

"You're just like Sora," Donald bit back, despite Kairi not biting Donald at all. "You _have_ to help."

Kairi felt a stab of betrayal from Sora.

Was this how Sora was treated when it was him, Donald, and Goofy? Maybe it was a good thing that Sora was hiding from the darkness. If Kairi wasn't sheltering Sora, Donald's comment just now would've just made it all worse.

So, Kairi got angry herself, "They need us, and you know it. Besides, we need to figure out how all those Unversed got here. So suck it up. If you don't want to tag along, then just go back to the Gummi Ship and wait for us there."

Donald watched in shock as Kairi walked away, with Lea following close behind her. Kairi had never got that mad with any of them.

Goofy leaned into Donald's ear and said, in a low voice, "She's mad because you insulted Sora. Besides, it's in both of their natures to help others."

"I didn't insult Sora!" Donald protested.

"Yes, you did," Goofy replied before walking away to join Lea and Kairi.

Donald sighed, before following up the group from behind.

Did he really insult Sora? He didn't mean to.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Mike was singing, _"Gotta send her home right now, or so help me~! So help me~! So help me~!"_ and was watching Boo with Kairi, as the group was walking down to the hall to the main floor.

Sulley was explaining to the other three Guardians and their pet dog/dragon about their history, "Monsters, Incorporated, used to rely on scream power from human kids for energy, but now we collect their laughter instead. It turns out laughter's ten times more powerful." They all glanced at Boo up ahead laughing with Kairi. "And we never would have figured it out without Boo."

"Our ships are powered by laughter, too," Goofy said. "Guess we've got that in common."

Boo then pointed to the group's left, "It's just a little farther."

"Okay," Kairi replied. Donald stopped her before she could follow Boo.

As Mike and Sulley joined Boo in walking forward, in front of the group, Kairi gave Donald her undivided attention. She didn't have to wait.

"I'm sorry, Kairi," Donald softly told her.

"For what?" She asked.

"For insulting Sora," Donald replied. "I just–"

"Any reason you give me, Donald," Kairi warned before he could continue, "is just going to sound like an excuse." She felt Sora feel a little comforted by the fact that Kairi was not in the mood for any nonsense. "Sora was _forced_ into this, while the rest of us _chose_ to get involved. He's been trying his best, and he feels like he isn't good enough, because maybe he's constantly being bombarded with random comments his friends make, comments that make him rethink his worth in other people's lives. He's already dealing with so much. I don't care if you tease him. I mean, that's what friends do. Just make sure he's aware that you don't actually mean it first."

Donald was very quiet after Kairi's rant. Goofy and Lea didn't bother to jump in to comment – they knew Kairi wouldn't take well to it.

"You're right," Donald replied after a few moments of silence. "You're absolutely right. I'm sorry. When we find Sora, I'll apologize to him, too."

"Good," was all Kairi said.

Donald was quiet before taking the plunge, "Hey, Kairi." The girl turned to him. "You really care about Sora, don't you?"

Kairi turned her head away from him, feeling a blush creep up on her face, "Of course, I do. When I first came to Destiny Islands, Sora and Riku were the ones who found me. After I was adopted by the mayor, I didn't really have any friends, until Sora stood up against the kids bullying me. That was the start of Sora, Riku, and Kairi."

Kairi softly smiled as she remembered that moment. Sora was always against bullying, but after school, he had invited her to join him and Riku on the play island. She reluctantly accepted, because she knew Sora and Riku were best friends and was afraid she'd drive a wedge between them. But she couldn't refuse because Sora had a big, cheerful smile on his face, _wanting_ her to say _'yes'_, and he had literally danced when she agreed to come along.

Riku was obviously hiding the fact that he was against this, and Kairi was obviously hiding from Riku, fully aware of this and afraid of him becoming another bully. However, after a couple of weeks, the two mutually agreed to start talking to each other because that's what Sora wanted out of them and was obviously upset by the fact that they weren't getting along - and when they were, it was very obviously forced.

Now, the three were officially Keyblade Wielders – and Guardians of Light – together, despite currently being separated, and Kairi didn't want to lose either of them.

Kairi felt Sora's warmth enveloping her heart in what felt like a hug, and she smiled.

But the moment was ruined by screams, and Boo calling, "Big Sis! Help! There's monsters here!"

Kairi immediately ran forward, the other Guardians following her, and they stopped upon the sight greeting them upon arriving at the main floor.

The Unversed were back. Numerous Floods and Flowersnakes were summoning doors and going in and out of the doors that were activate – signaled by a bright red light at the top – collecting screams from kids.

Exactly what Sulley and Mike said this company stopped doing.

_**"They're collecting screams for a reason,"**_ Ventus informed her. _**"Be on your guard. Even if you defeat them, more will show up."**_

Kairi was very concerned about Ventus. It seemed to her that he knew all of this from personal experience.

_**'Don't worry, Ven,'**_ she attempted to comfort him. _**'We'll get to the bottom of this.'**_

And with that, Kairi summoned her Destiny's Embrace and raced forward to fight them, the other three soon following, their own weapons summoned.

"Let's clean house!" Kairi signaled the start of the fight by firing a Blizzara spell at the Floods in front of her.

Sulley leaned down to Boo's level, "Take Pluto and hide somewhere. Kitty and Mikey will take care of these guys real soon."

"Okay," Boo agreed, before looking up. "Look! My door!" She pointed to a white door with pink flowers on it, the railing bringing it back to the door vault.

"I know," Mike said. "But we have to get rid of these monsters first."

After Sulley and Mike ran off to join the fight, Boo hid behind a nearby work station as Pluto set a Flood on fire when it got too close to Boo's hiding spot.

As Lea sent a Fira spell a Flowersnake's way, he glanced back at Kairi – a habit he just recently developed ever since Marluxia told him that Xehanort was after her – and he was surprised to see her taking out more Unversed that him, Donald, and Goofy combined.

Anyone else would have shrugged it off as Kairi figuring out the enemies' plan of attack and strategy, and then acting on those things, but Lea knew better.

Kairi either knew something he didn't, or she was being antagonized again – like Larxene said they were told to do. Or both.

And frankly, he was concerned.

Because, he and Kairi trained together for only Merlin knew how long, which meant he knew her fighting style, and how it had evolved. The way she was fighting right now suggested that something personal was going on.

Thanks to Kairi, the fight ended quicker than anyone expected it to be. It wouldn't be their last, but now they had the freedom to pursue Boo's door.

Mike rushed forward and swiped three cards, each of them summoning a door. Once they were locked in place, he announced, "Ride's here!"

"Nice job, Mike!" Sulley said, before turning to the rest of the room, unsure where Boo chose to hide. "Boo, come on!"

Boo's head popped from a nearby workstation. "They're gone?"

"Yeah," Sulley replied. "Now, it's time to go get your door."

Boo then got up and ran over to them, Pluto hot on her heels, as Mike turned to the other four and explained what to do, "Just grab onto the door when you're ready."

"Got it," Lea replied, just as Pluto jumped into his arms. "Easy, boy!" He and Kairi then jumped up and grabbed the top of the first door, to which Mike then pressed a button on the nearby console to call the door back to the vault.

Donald and Goofy followed this example and grabbed onto the second door, just as Mike pressed the button to call it back.

Mike pressed the button for the third door right before he joined Sulley and Boo by hanging onto it.

"Hold on tight, Boo," Sulley said.

The doors began to move towards the door vault, and Mikey said, "Boo's door, here we come!"

They left something behind on the main floor, however, or someone.

A purple-scaled reptile became visible from the corner, saying, "Oh, I just got a great idea."

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

After using _Rail Slide_ – a Flowmotion technique Sora and Riku taught her – the group finally reached a balcony that a pale yellow door was leaning against, the door Mike had directed Kairi towards.

Kairi landed, everyone else behind her doing the same, and Mike rushed to the door and opened it.

It only led to the wall behind it. Mike and Kairi both glanced up at the red button – it was off.

"The door's offline," Mike informed the rest of the group. "We have to power it up."

"Princess!" Lea called back – him, Donald, and Goofy facing what was behind Kairi and Mike, their weapons already out.

Kairi turned around to see, not Unversed, but Heartless – Soldiers and Vermillon Sambas to be more exact.

"What?" Kairi asked, drawing her Keyblade as she ran forward to fight them. "The Heartless are here too?"

"Don't worry," Sulley called out to them. "I'll watch Boo."

"'Kay!" Mike said, before running alongside Kairi to join the fight. "Kairi, we gotta make Boo laugh to open the door!"

"Right!" Kairi replied before striking down a Soldier with her Keyblade. "But first we have to take care of these guys first. Leave Boo to Sulley."

_**"Don't worry about the Heartless. They're a natural occurrence,"**_ Ven reminded her. _**"Worry about the Unversed. They're the ones that are only controlled by one person."**_

_**'Right,'**_ Kairi replied.

_**"When this guy does show up, you'll point him out, right?"**_ Sora asked Ven.

_**"Of course. I promise,"**_ Ventus vowed.

_"Thundaga!"_ Donald's bolt of lightning purposefully ricocheted off of Goofy's shield and hit a Vermillon Samba that was rather hard to hit normally. "Got 'em!"

"Nice job there, Donald!" Goofy called back, as Lea used Flame Salvo to finish off the rest of the Heartless.

Meanwhile, Pluto got Boo to laugh, by rolling around as if begging for stomach pats – which turned the door online. Sulley quickly noticed the effectiveness of Boo's laughter, and called back to the others, "The door's open!"

With all the Heartless gone, Kairi followed Sulley, Boo, and Mike through the door. Goofy ran behind the group and shut the door behind them.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

The group got out through another door that led to the opposite side of the door vault.

Sulley looked around until he pointed at Boo's door, which was still moving in tandem with all the others. "There it is!"

Mike turned to the group, and motioned to the doors moving on the rails, "Time to hitch another ride."

And with that, the group ran forward to grab a door to hang onto – Kairi performing a _Pole Swing_ and then a _Rail Slide_ to grab hers – as she made sure everyone else was hanging onto a door before she followed up the group, so it made her lag behind.

After a short ride, they got off on another balcony after Sulley pointed it out. It was easy to understand why: Boo's door was leaning against the wall, and it was online.

"There it is!"

Sulley led the group through the door, with Kairi following up the back and closing the door behind her.

They all missed the purple lizard monster turning visible once Kairi closed the door. He gave off a dark chuckle before following them through the door – a simple white door with _no flowers on it anywhere_.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

When the group got out on the other side, it didn't take long to realize that this was not where they wanted to end up.

"Wait! How'd we take a wrong turn?" Mike asked what they were all thinking.

"Who cares?" came an unfamiliar voice. The group turned around just in time to see a purple lizard monster turn visible. "All that matters...is that it's the last turn that you losers are ever gonna take."

"Randall?!" Sulley sounded surprised.

"Who's this clown?" Lea asked.

"He's a creep we banished for trying to collect screams by force," Sulley explained as Boo clutched onto Kairi's thigh, as if scared. Kairi glanced down as saw a frightened glare on the little girl's face – she was half correct, and Sulley noticed this interaction. "He used to be Boo's scarer."

"He's mean," Boo whispered. Kairi turned around to glare at Randall as she gently pat Boo's head in an attempt to comfort her.

"How did you even get back here?" Mike asked. "The door we sent you through is sawdust!"

"Yeah, and I almost got turned into somebody's wallet," Randall replied. "Lucky for me, a real nice guy came along and fixed the door. So here I am."

_**'Is he talking about who I think he's talking about?'**_ Kairi asked Ven.

_**"The guy I mentioned? Yeah. Most likely,"**_ Ventus replied.

Mike growled.

Randall continued, "And starting today, I'm numero uno! Top of the leaderboard, baby."

"_Ha!_" Mike laughed. "You, a top laugh collector? In your dreams, Randall. My laugh totals are off the charts."

"Is this really the time for a competition?" Lea asked.

"Who said anything about collecting laughs?" Randall ignored him. "I'm after negative emotions." Mike and Sulley shared a glance of concern. "And my new friends have kindly invaded the factory to get 'em for me."

_**"Definitely,"**_ Ventus cut in.

"He's gotta know," Donald whispered to Goofy.

"Yeah, Organization XIII must be helpin' him," Goofy replied in the same volume.

Kairi felt better in knowing that her comrades shared her sentiment, even if they didn't know who exactly in the Organization was helping this guy, because she didn't know either.

"Laughter's just not sustainable," Randall continued, as if nobody had spoken. "Once junior chorts his last chortle, you've gotta start over. But negative energy? Especially sadness? Give 'em something that really breaks their little hearts, and they'll stay sad forever. We'll never have to worry about energy again."

Kairi clapped, completely sarcastic.

"Something funny?" Randall growled at her.

"I know we're strangers, but none of that language sounded like you at all. I'm seriously wondering who you copied that from," Kairi explained before summoning Destiny's Embrace. "But whoever who helped you, there's no way we're going to let either of you hurt anyone like that. No you *or* your little Unversed helpers!"

"Just try and stop me," Randall shot back. "You'll see soon enough. I am gonna be a legend around this place. Now, consider _your_ careers officially over."

"What?!" Mike asked.

Randall chuckled, "And that goes for the rest of you, too." He was clearly addressing Kairi and her three comrades.

Pluto growled in anger right before Randall turned invisible.

"Hey!" Lea rushed forward to Kairi's side, his Flame Liberator also out. "Where'd he go?"

The intercom clicked on, and Randall's voice came through, "We're in control of this factory now. And I suggested a few improvements – some real doozies I just know you're gonna love. In fact, you're not getting out of here alive."

"That weasel means business!" Mike said. "He'll never quit." He turned to Sulley.

"We have to get Boo to safety first," Sulley took charge. "Then, we can take care of Randall. Let's go find a way out."

He led the group down the hallway in front of them, and then entered a room which factory-like machines.

One of those machines turned to Kairi and Lea when they approached it, and Lea barely managed to grab and pull Kairi out of the laser it suddenly shot at them.

"What's wrong with this machine?" Lea asked Mike. "There's no way we can take Boo through here safely."

"This must be Randall meant by _'improvements'_," Sulley replied, as Boo snuggled closer to Sulley.

"Bad ones at that!" Donald added.

"It's nothing we can't handle," Goofy tried to reassure them.

"Sulley, you and Mike wait with Boo and Pluto at the doorframe here," Kairi told them. "We'll try to find a way through this mess." She then turned to Lea, Donald, and Goofy. "Any ideas?"

"Yeah," Lea replied. "Just one."

Before anybody could ask what that one idea was, Lea had drawn his Keyblade and had struck the machine with it.

Donald immediately panicked. "What are you doing?!"

"If they're destroyed, they can't kill us," Lea explained his logic.

"True," Kairi agreed, "but this is an active company. It costs money to keep these machines in operation and even more money to repair them."

"Also true," Lea calmly replied, "but our lives are worth a lot more."

Kairi paused as she took a moment to reflect on this. Lea had a point but this was a working company.

After a moment of thinking, she called to the room's entrance, and said, "Mike? Sulley?" When their heads popped into view, she continued, "Sorry, but we need to destroy these death machines. Is that okay with you?"

Sulley and Mike shared a glance, words not needing to be spoken. They then turned back and both raised a thumb at them.

They were cool with it.

"Alright," Kairi shrugged and turned back to Lea. "Go ahead, Pyromaniac. Do your thing."

"Don't mind if I do," Lea replied, before raising his Flame Liberator against the other machines.

Once all the machines were destroyed, Goofy turned the trio still waiting in the doorway. "The coast is clear! Sorry about wrecking your machines," he apologized to Mike and Sulley as they met up in the center of the room.

"That's okay," Sulley replied. "They can easily be replaced with back-ups. Now, let's continue on. We're not even close to the exit."

Sulley and Mike then led the group out of the room, to another that had an elevator – an elevator that was clearly out of order.

"Great," Kairi muttered. "The power's out again."

"It's okay," Mike replied. "We know what to do. We gotta make Boo laugh." He glanced around, trying to find ideas. Then his eyes rested on a pair of doors clearly labeled _'Painting Booth'_. "Bingo!"

"Uh, Mike?" Sulley wasn't up to speed. "How's that supposed to help?"

Mike laughed and motioned Sulley to come over to him and lean down to his level. Sulley did as Mike said, and leaned down to let Mike whisper his idea in his ear.

"Heh, that's a good idea!" Sulley replied once he heard the whole story from Mike.

"Yep! Take it away!" Mike said, motioning to the Painting Booth.

Sulley, however, grabbed Mike's head as he walked past him. "Nice try, Mike. I'm not doin' this alone!" he said as he dragged Mike to the Painting Booth with him.

Mike, however, protested. "Hey! You, not me. C'mon...Sulley! Woah! No. Stop! Sul-ley! Not what I had in miiind!" The doors closed on him mid-yell and Lea was obviously trying to contain his laughter, but was failing.

Kairi heard the other five hearts within hers laugh at Mike as well, and she couldn't help but smile too.

A couple minutes later, Sulley and Mike walked out of the Booth as the doors opened, both covered in pink and blue paint. Mike had a pout on his face, while Sulley smirked and nudged Mike, laughing at the fact that his green friend was having none of it.

Meanwhile, Boo started laughing – at the paint – while the Guardians laughed with her – more at Mike's pout than anything else.

Kairi turned to the elevator when it dinged to life. "It's on!" She called. "Let's go!"

They all got on the elevator, which took them up a few levels. When it stopped and the doors opened, Boo ran off.

Sulley and Mike immediately panicked. "Boo!"

"Come back! You can't run off, kid!"

The Guardians – plus Pluto – were quick to follow them.

The group was led to a room filled with pipes flowing with water. Boo popped up from behind the large pipe in the center and giggled.

They all breathed a sigh of relief – apparently Boo wanted to play hide and seek.

"There you are!" Mike said, right before the pipe above him and Sulley broke. The water that flowed from it washed all the paint off.

"That paint was kinda growin' on me!" Sulley said in response to this.

Mike, on the other hand, was celebrating, "Woo! This is way better." He was caught off-guard by Sulley shaking himself dry. "Agh! Hey, no. Would ya cut that out?"

Sulley only chuckled at him.

"Umm, Sis?" Boo clutched Kairi's leg in fear. "The monster's are here again..."

The group turned to where Boo was facing, and sure enough, more Heartless were here - Water Cores to be exact.

"Thunder and Blizzard are the most effective attacks against these guys!" Donald called out, as the Guardians all summoned their weapons and Mike and Sulley took Boo out of the room.

"Right!" Kairi acknowledged as she sent a Blizzara spell their way.

Donald – the Mage of the Guardians – and Kairi – who's Destiny's Embrace had an affinity for Magic – were the ones were the best equipped for this job, as Goofy and Lea were more melee-based fighters.

But thanks to Mike and Sulley joining the fight – after leaving Boo with Pluto – they were able to defeat all the Heartless very quickly.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Kairi felt like they were just going in circles, until Sulley and Mike led them to room with a garage door.

Sulley motioned to this large door, and informed them, "Once we get through here, we're clear."

"Finally," Lea sighed in relief.

"Yeah," Mike said, as he ran up to the large computer against the left-hand wall. "This is the central control unit for the whole factory. Now, whaddaya say we get outta here?"

"Yes, please," Lea said.

Mike pressed some buttons on the computer before delivering more bad news, "Rats! Randall must have messed this up too. Nothin' works!"

"You mean, we can't get out?" Donald asked.

"Maybe it would be faster to just break it," Goofy suggested.

Lea smirked, "That's brilliant!" He drew his Flame Liberator and raised it over the cords that made this computer the central control unit for the entire factory.

"Hang on!" Everyone else, including Lea, turned to Sulley. "I think I've got a better idea. If we can just short it out, the lock will disengage. And, lucky for us, Boo here is a walking energy generator."

"That might work!" Mike agreed, giving Sulley permission to work on his idea.

As Sulley placed Boo on his back and ran around the room, playing horsey, Kairi thought back to Rapunzel and how she used her powers to bring him back to life.

She now knew what power that was – it was called _**Second Chance**_. As its name suggested, it gave someone who just died in battle a _'second chance'_ to continue the fight. Yen Sid had many books covering it, but they all said it was an impossible Cure-type spell to master. Rapunzel being a Princess of Heart with magic hair must have made that possible for her.

_**Princess Rapunzel, the Sunflower.**_

Moana had the power over water and the ocean, yes, but her true power was always knowing where to go. She had the ability to measure the stars, literally and figuratively, and lead the way to other people's destinations

_**Princess Moana, the Wayfinder.**_

And Boo here had the power of laughter and use it as energy to her and her allies' advantage. Her playfulness and cheerful personality made it possible for her to weaponize her laughter against her enemies.

_**Princess Boo, the Playful.**_

There were three others that Kairi had yet to meet, but she knew that she would meet them soon. Her dream last night had given her hints - by showing her four things.

A cat – which she now knew was Boo's, as she tended to call Sulley _'Kitty'_.

But that was the only one she knew. The other three were a frog, a Sea Salt Ice Cream popsicle, and a snowflake.

The frog and the snowflake were impossible to know about, aside from the fact that they were likely telling her that the worlds those respective Princess were in were a swamp and the arctic, respectively. The Sea Salt Ice Cream, however, was most likely Twilight Town, thanks to Lea telling her his stories about that world.

She made a mental reminder to have her and Lea stop by Twilight Town to make sure of that. She had to check – she had to secure all six.

Kairi's thought train was derailed when Mike and Lea ran after Sulley and Boo. Mike tripped and Lea's attempt to stop caused his Keyblade to slip out of his hand and him to bump into Mike. Mike managed to stick the landing, and he celebrated. However, Lea's stray Flame Liberator bonked him on the head and disappeared in a flash of light when it hit the floor.

Sulley and Boo gently laughed at Mike.

Kairi turned to see the computer short-circuiting, but nothing ground-breaking was happening, so she turned back to the others, "Not yet. We need a bigger burst of laughter."

Sulley turned to Mike, "Would you care to do the honors?"

"I'd love to," Mike replied as he turned to Boo. He wrung his hands before smacking his head on either side. His eyeball followed his smacks, like a game of tennis. "Ta-dah! 40-0. Game and set." However, no one laughed. It was clear that everyone was confused. "I'm not cut out for the racket." Still silence. "Come on. It's a tennis joke...Should I have with ping-pong?"

"Nothing could've saved _that_ one," Lea muttered to Kairi, who nodded in agreement.

Mike frowned before surprising everyone by calling out, "Wait! Nobody move! I dropped my contact!"

As Mike looked all over the floor, Sulley scratched his head, "I don't think Boo's gonna get it, Mike."

Kairi leaned over to Sulley, and asked, as Mike pouted, "Do _you_ get it?"

"Yeah," Sulley replied. "It's 'cause his eye's so big. The joke is you can't lose a contact the size of a dinner plate."

"Oh, fine!" Mike yelled, seemingly giving up.

"Aren't you supposed to be good at this?" Donald asked him.

"I _am_ once I'm warmed up," Mike shot back.

Kairi shook her head, "You guys are just trying too hard." Kairi kneeled next to Boo and, without warning, began to tickle her sides.

Boo immediately burst out laughing – off course a girl like Boo was ticklish.

Almost automatically after that, the lock short-circuited, and the door opened.

Kairi stopped with her tickling, as Sulley told Mike, "Kairi's aimin' for your job."

Mike huffed in annoyance.

But before they could go through the door, Randall reappeared and asked, mockingly hurt, "You guys aren't gonna leave without saying goodbye, are you?"

"Give it a rest, Randall," Mike replied. "You're not gonna get away with this."

"We'll stop anything you throw at us," Sulley added, as the four Guardians summoned their weapons and took a battle stance.

"Maybe you will," Randall replied, not fazed at all. "Or then again, maybe you won't. I still have an ace up my sleeve." He motioned to a lump of metal in the corner of the room, which he next addressed, "Now...I command you to destroy them!" He snapped fingers, as if that would activate the machine and bring it to life.

But nothing happened.

Randall snapped his fingers again. Still nothing. "Hey! Come on!" He ran up to it. "Move...Move, you stupid–!"

The heroes all breathed a collective sigh of relief – Kairi felt Ven do the same – as Mike replied, "Looks like your ace is a joker."

Randall gave the machine a good kick. "What a pile of junk!" He huffed as he walked away.

"Wha-Hey!" Sulley held Kairi back.

"Just leave him," Sulley told her. "I don't think he can cause us anymore trouble."

_**"Randall can't,"**_ Kairi heard Ven tell her, _**"But the one who's helping him can."**_

"It never hurts to be careful," Kairi replied, but she left with the group anyways.

Bringing Boo home was their top priority right now.

"C'mon," Sulley said, as the big garage door opened, "Boo's door has to be somewhere in the vault. If we head outside and go through the power station, we can get to the door vault that way. Follow me!"

The door closed behind them, and Randall growled in frustration. He then noticed a guy in a black cloak, with the hood up, appear out of a cloud of darkness, before possessing the lump of metal and turning it into an Unversed.

Randall smiled at this. Those guys were bound for trouble the next time they met.

His partner didn't let him down after all.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

The group ran through a corridor as the alarm rang. When they got outside to the main courtyard, the discovered that the alarm was ringing for a good reason.

There was a fire in the courtyard, caused by two Spiked Turtletoads.

"Oh no..." Mike muttered. Kairi couldn't blame him – today wasn't going smoothly.

Then again, when did life ever go smoothly?

Helicopters began to fly in – CDA agents, as Mike and Sulley called them.

One such agent announced over the intercom, _"Disregard Code 835. 72-16 in progress. We have a visual on unidentified life forms. Suspected cause of the conflagration. Code 72-16, over."_

"We gotta get to Boo's door," Sulley said, and Kairi only agreed. This place – the way it was now – was no place for a child.

"Yeah," Kairi said.

Mike and Sulley led the group down a flight of stairs, but they didn't get much farther, since the fire blocked their path.

The CDA agent on the intercom continued, as ropes fell from the helicopters, _"Ready to descend."_ Figures – Kairi and Lea both figured them to be monsters – in all yellow body suits used the ropes to fall from the helicopters to the ground. One such agent turned to the group of heroes behind him, _"Stand aside. We'll get this fire put out, pronto."_

However, the two Spiked Turtletoads, along with some Floods, made that difficult.

_"Code 72-16,"_ came the agent over the intercom. _"Unidentified life form sighted."_

The four Guardians all produced their weapons and ran forward. "Don't worry about them," Kairi told the agents. "These guys are _our_ specialty!"

Melee attacks seemed to work best on the Spiked Turtletoads, so Lea and Goofy were left to deal with them, while Donald and Kairi pursued the Floods.

Lea was using the new Keychain Mike and Sulley had given them – _**Happy Gear**_, which had a major burst in strength and a minor burst in speed and magic.

_**'Take it easy, Ven,'**_ Kairi pressed. She needed him to calm down. She couldn't concentrate on fighting when one of the five hearts within her was feeling a strong emotion that she wasn't. _**'We'll fix this mess.'**_

_**"He's only going to get stronger,"**_ Ven warned her. _**"He's using the Unversed to strengthen himself. While you guys have been wandering around, he's been using the doors on the main floor to scare kids."**_

_**'We'll stop him,'**_ Kairi promised him.

_**"How?"**_ Ven asked. Kairi felt lots of emotions – sadness especially – pour out of him as he finally spilled his mind. _**"It took my heart breaking to defeat him! I can't ask you to take such a risk, not when you need to protect the worlds, Kairi!"**_ Ven quieted down and whispered, _**"Not for me..."**_

Ventus seemed to have a personal vendetta against who was controlling the Unversed. It took Ven's heart breaking to defeat him? Is that why he was currently recovering within Sora's heart?

In a sudden burst of justice – the need to avenge Ventus – Kairi activated her special _**Tidal Shockwave again**_, which easily took out the rest of the Floods and greatly weakened the two Spiked Turtletoads. This allowed Lea to activate his Shotlock – _**Flame Salvo**_ – to take the two big ones out for good.

_**'Then, let's take him down together,'**_ Kairi proposed.

By this time, the CDA agents had gotten the fire out without too much trouble – Mike and Sulley had helped them.

"Thank you," Sulley said to the agent that had lingered. "You did great."

_"Thank you, sir,"_ the agent replied. _"We'll be on our way. If you know how to stop these attacks, then please do it."_

"We will," Kairi promised, and for a moment Lea swore he could see someone else – Ventus – standing in her place, both heavily determined to stop the Unversed. "Let's go," she then ordered, and no one had any protests against it.

Mike then pointed to the left. "This way."

However, a giant explosion caused multiple boilers and some pipes to come crashing down including a giant pipe large enough to crush them – fortunately, nobody got hurt, but their path was once again blocked.

"Oh, great," Mike groaned. "This time we're really stuck. Sulley, any ideas?"

"Just give me a second," Sulley replied. As he wracked his brain, Boo tilted her head before pointing at the giant pipe that almost crushed them.

"Kitty!" She said. "That way!"

"Huh?" Sulley questioned before taking a moment to reconsider. "Yep! It's perfect! Thank you, Boo!" He gently patted Boo's head, who smiled her _'You're welcome'_ at him. "We gotta follow that pipe."

"What?!" Mike, however, had some doubts. "Wait a sec. I thought we were going straight to the door vault. The only place that pipe leads is to the cooling tank! You sure you don't have a better idea?"

"Don't worry, Mike," Sulley said, as he led them up the pipe. "Just trust me."

After going up the pipe, Sulley went over to the wall. "I'm pretty sure Maintenance hasn't finished patching it up." He moved a piece of metal frame that was there, revealing a passage that was ripped into existence. "This way."

After the group went through, Mike had a revelation, "Wait a second...It's the door vault!"

"Yep," Sulley replied. "What'd I tell ya?"

"Sure, nice job, Sull," Mike said. "Seriously, if I didn't know any better...I'd say you actually ran the place."

"Thanks, Mikey," Sulley answered, before turning to the rest of the group. "C'mon. It's not much farther from here."

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

They were inside the door vault now, and Sulley has simply told them to look for Boo's door.

But a pattering of several small feet interrupted them. They all turned around, unimpressed by who they saw, but applauding him for continuing to persist.

"Randall," Sulley said.

"Didn't you learn your lesson with that pile-of-junk fiasco?" Mike asked.

"Oh, I learned a lot," Randall replied, before revealing his pile of junk. It no longer resembled a pile but an actual machine.

Mike, however, shrugged it off, thinking this was going to be just like the last time, and began walking towards it, not seeing it as a threat.

However, both Boo and Kairi felt a sudden burst of negative emotions and saw the Unversed emblem appear on it.

"Mike, wait!" Lea stopped him. "Something's different!"

Lea produced Happy Gear as Kairi produced Ocean's Call as they both ran forward, Donald and Goofy not far behind, their weapons also drawn.

"Oh, please," Mike laughed. "It's just more junk."

Randall began laughing maniacally, as the Lump of Horror was formed from the machine, much to Mike's surprise.

"Told you!" Lea called back to Mike. "Next time, just trust us!"

"Right!" Mike called back, as Boo rushed to Pluto – who immediately took a defensive stance – as Sulley stood next to Mike.

Sulley picked Mike up by his head, and said, "Mike, time to reach down and let the scary out."

Mike nodded and slapped his own face a few times, before Sulley dropped him, "Oh, I'm ready, Sulley. I'm ready!" He and Sulley were ready to fight this thing.

Randall was contect with watching the fight from above. "Finally...This is exactly what I need to take over this company. But first, I am getting rid of _you_. _Attack!_"

Without warning, the Unversed slid across the room and tackled the group with its body – approximately three times.

Its sliding tackle left all six party members on the ground, hoping it wouldn't come back.

Kairi barely managed to dodge the fireball aiming at her out of the multitude of fireballs – about six – it sent their way next. Lea and Goofy were both able to block their fireballs with their respective weapons, while Donald froze his with a Blizzaga spell, but Mike and Sulley were not so lucky.

This thing was too fast. Kairi quickly studied it, hoping to find a weak spot. She could only see them winning by keeping their distance, always dodging, and attacking using magic. But she wasn't sure if they would actually win that way.

Kairi felt her heart beat and heard Ven tell her, _**"Together, Kairi."**_

She smiled and allowed a bright flash of light to surround her.

Once the light faded, Randall glanced back at Kairi – now in human form – to see her in a green version of the clothes she was wearing – instead of pink – with a black, diamond pattern instead of plaid.

Just like how Final Form was Namine's time to shine, this time was Ventus' time in the spotlight – using _**Blitz Form**_. Kairi could feel her speed go up while her strength and magic stayed still. Wayward Wind was in her left hand, back-handed for defense, while Lost Memory was in her right, held the usual way for offense.

_**"You should be fast enough now,"**_ Ven told her.

The Lump of Horror tackled the group again – three times like last time – but this time, Kairi was able to easily dodge it without a sweat all three times.

Lea sent a Fira spell at the same time that Donald sent a Thundaga spell and Kairi a Blizzara spell. Goofy used his shield to amplify their attacks – the same ones – when they sent them out a second time.

The Unversed tackled the again, but was stopped the first run by Kairi's Strike Raid, which then turned into a Wind Raid, as she steered Wayward Wind to circle the Lump until its high defense was down, allowing Kairi to strike it with both Keyblades once Wayward Wind came back to her.

With a huge chunk of its health missing, the Lump of Horror suddenly exploded. Dark ink now scattered the floor, hurting the other five, while Kairi had jumped up high and was hanging onto the wall by a pipe, safely out of the way. The Lump now had wings, which it used to flap up a gentle storm that wasn't harmful or damaged, but was still a pain, because it kept pushing them back.

Kairi, meanwhile, studied her opponent as the other five dealt with its numerous arms.

Its core body was more exposed – its weak point – which gave them an opening. It'd be hard to get to it, due to its many arms all attacking consecutively, but Blitz Form gave her enough speed to get the job done. All she needed was another strength-based melee attack attacking with her in unison.

"Lea! Goofy!" She called out. "Attack the core!"

The two didn't have to ask – they already knew. Lea used Goofy's shield as a jumping pad at the same time Kairi used Ventus' signature Command Finish – _**Stratosphere**_. Both Guardians hit the Lump's core at the exact same time, causing a powerful enough strike to defeat it for good.

Randall ran to his _'ace up the sleeve'_ as it collapses in a pile of metal, the ink it produces now gone – it was lifeless, gone, defeated. They did it.

All thanks to Ven and the Blitz Form he gave Kairi.

Randall was unable to believe to his trump card was now gone, "Whyyy?!"

Mike noticed the repaired door he and Sulley had sent Randall through previously. It was still in bad shape, but it was online – which gave Mike an idea.

As Randall fussed over his failed machine, Mike got Sulley's attention.

All the wacky hand signals and combos that Mike was doing heavily confused Sulley. Mike was pointing at Sulley, Randall, and the broken door, but he wasn't sure what Mike wanted him to do.

Mike sighed before doing a scary face, and that was when Sulley understood.

Sulley ran off as Mike rolled his eye.

Donald noticed Sulley running ahead, "Where are you going–?" But Goofy quickly put his hand over Donald's mouth, shushing him.

And it was then obvious as to why.

Randall was caught off-guard by Sulley jumping up behind him and scaring him.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Randall now stood in front of the repaired door he escaped from and watched Mike open it.

"Alright, and in ya go," Mike said, with a smile.

"Back where you belong!" Boo said, from her spot in between Kairi and Sulley, a glare on her face. "I'm not scared of you anymore!"

"There's no place for you here anymore, Randall," Sulley added. "Now, we're in the business of making children laugh."

Boo giggled in response to this before letting Kairi – still in Blitz Form, and by extension, in human form too – hug her.

"You think it's funny?" Randall growled.

"It's hilarious!" Mike replied. "The more than you whine, the _'funnier'_ it gets."

Randall growled again in anger before finally accepting defeat and heading towards the door that was his exile.

"Enjoy your extended vacation," Sulley cheerfully called back.

"Hmph! You clowns are gonna be sorry when I find my way back and I finally take over this place!" Randall entered the door, and Mike was about to close the door, but was stopped by a conversation beyond the door.

_"Mama, that gator's in the house again!"_

_"Are you kiddin'?! Oh, this time, he's in for it!"_

Mike winced in horror as he and the others heard clanging and banging sounds, but only Mike saw what was happening.

Randall screamed, and Mike just laughed. "So long! Smell ya later!" Mike then closed the door.

"And now we just need to go one last thing," Sulley said, preparing to smash it.

"Hold on!" Kairi said, stopping Sulley before he could destroy the door. "I have a way to lock him out."

Kairi held up Lost Memory and pointed it at the door. A light came from the tip and immediately hit the door, engulfing it in light.

A keyhole appeared in the center of the door, and a click sounded – Kairi had locked the door with her Keyblade.

The door then lifted up and shattered into fragments of light.

Kairi smiled, lowering her Keyblade, "And that takes care of that."

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

The group finally climbed up to Boo's door. Now, everything was over. It was time for Boo to go home.

"Okay, Boo," Sulley said, "time to go home. You must be tuckered out, but we'll play together real soon."

Boo sounded sad, "Okay." She didn't want to go. It had been five years her time since she had seen Mike and Sulley. Who knows how long it would be before she got to see them again? "I had a lot of fun today."

"Even if the day was filled with monsters attacking you?" Lea asked her.

"Even if the day was filled with monsters attacking me," Boo replied with a gentle smile. "I got to see Mikey and Kitty again and meet new friends, one of them being a fellow human wearing a monster mask."

She was referring to Kairi – still in Blitz Form. She and Ven had mutually agreed to keep it activated in case they ran into the guy Ventus clearly had a vendetta against.

Donald was puzzled as to why this was, still, but Lea was there when Flora, Fauna, and Merriweather had outfitted Kairi – he came before her – as it was also the moment they explained Kairi's Drive Forms.

No matter how powerful Donald's magic was, Kairi's powers were a lot stronger than his. She was a Princess of Heart, after all. So, it was obvious that Kairi's Blitz Form would be stronger than Donald's monster disguise.

Mike and Sulley had been surprised at this too, but Donald had quickly explained it to them by introducing them to the term _'world order'_.

No one minded, though. Blitz Form had saved them all against the Lump of Horror.

The group was caught off-guard by three doors they were holding onto jerking forward, sliding on the rails towards the main floor.

"What now?!" Mike asked.

_What was going on?_

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Realm of Darkness~**

There was no communication between the Realm of Darkness and the Realm of Light. They were on their own now. There were here to save Aqua, and it was now or never.

Mickey stopped when Riku did. "What's wrong, Riku? Are you tired? If you need a break, we can stop."

"No, just..." he paused, trying to find the right words, "I've been here before. I should know this place. But that all seems like another life."

"Well, gee," Mickey smiled at him. "Think of all you've seen! All the feelings you've felt. Why, you've gone years of growin' in almost no time at all."

"I remember my first time here," Riku was quiet, remembering how much of an idiot he was then. "I was so scared." He glanced down at his gloved right hand, the one that held his Keyblade. "But now, my doubts and fears are gone. If anything, I feel exhilarated. And it's not because there's darkness in me – I know too well what that rush is like. This is different. And it's not adrenaline either. I know Aqua needs us...but I'm ready. I'm in control now," he promised, to himself more than to Mickey. "Heh...maybe it's because you're with me this time," he told his partner.

Mickey shook his head. "It's not me. I think it's because you've finally found inside you that special strength to protect what matters."

"What?"

"Sometimes you care so much for somebody that other feelings disappear," Mickey explained to a confused Riku. "And then, there's no room for fear or doubt."

"Is that it?" Riku glanced at his hand again - the same hand that had grabbed that man's Keyblade so many years ago - the man he now knew to be Terra, one of the three missing Keyblade wielders. "_'Strength to protect what matters'_...It reminds me of a promise I made."

"To who?" Mickey asked.

"Just someone I once met," Riku replied. "Can't tell. It's a secret."

"Sounds like a good memory," Mickey commented.

"Yeah..." Riku then changed the subject. "While we're reminiscing, Mickey, does any of this look familiar?"

"Sort of," Mickey replied. "But the Realm of Darkness has changed since I was here with Aqua."

"Yeah. It's different from what I remember," Riku added.

"Usually, I'd just follow my heart," Mickey said, "and Aqua would show me the way." He continued walking. "But the closer I get, the hazier our connection feels."

"You mean..."

Mickey didn't want to entertain that thought. "Maybe, but we can't give up hope."

Riku agreed, and the two continued on.

The two walked on until they came up to the shoreline that was all too familiar to Riku. It seemed like only yesterday when he and Sora were stranded here after defeating Xemnas. Both of them would've been content to stay there – maybe then they could've met Aqua and saved her – but both boys were thrilled when Kairi had found a way to open the door to the Realm of Light.

"It's gone," Mickey said. Riku had stopped walking, but his partner continued to walk.

"Huh?"

Mickey stopped. "I'm positive Aqua was here." He turned around to face Riku. "But now...her trail's gone dim."

"I've been here, too," Riku replied. "With Sora."

"Really?"

"This is where we found our way back to the Realm of Light," Riku replied. "Kairi opened the door for us. Hey, maybe Aqua did, too!" He didn't want to give up hope. Maybe Aqua had already escaped.

Mickey, however, shook his head, crushing that theory dead. "Aqua...has fallen into an even darker abyss – somewhere I can't see her. And I don't think we're equipped to dive any deeper than we already are."

"What about Kairi?" Riku asked. "She can't be corrupted by Darkness."

"Yes," Mickey replied, before reminding him, "but too much Darkness and her heart will shatter. Allowing Kairi to take such a risk is exactly what Xehanort wants."

Axel had told them about Xehanort's plan concerning Kairi, about how Marluxia and Larxene both said they were ordered to antagonize Kairi as much as possible, and how much of their plan rode on Kairi _'losing her cool'_.

"So then..." Riku's shoulders dropped in disappointment. He couldn't ask Kairi to take such a risk. He wouldn't.

_He had to keep her safe._

Before Mickey could reply, the two were suddenly surrounded by Heartless.

"Oh no!" Mickey cried, as he drew his upgraded Keyblade – _**Kingdom Key W**_, which was a cross of his two other Keyblades – and Riku drew his _**Way to Dawn**_.

"What?!" Where did these guys come from.

"Riku...be careful," Mickey warned. "Even the least threatening Heartless are stronger in this Realm."

"Got it," Riku acknowledged.

But the Heartless surprised them. Inside of attacking, they gathered into a giant pool of darkness and all rose together as a demon tower.

Riku rushed forward, ready to fight, but as soon as his Keyblade made contact with the Heartless, he was quick to realize that most of his hits didn't feel like they were connected, and the hits that did feel like they had connected were not hard enough – as if they were tricking him into trying harder and zapping up his own strength faster.

He wasn't sure if Mickey was experiencing the same thing. He couldn't take a break to check – the tower would not give him the necessary time to check on Mickey and see how he was faring.

Riku pushed himself back, giving himself the necessary, if temporary, time to check on his partner.

Mickey was down – he had almost no health left. Which was a problem, because while they both had more than enough Hi-Potions, neither of them knew any Cure spell.

Kairi did though. In fact, she was a master at them. Yet another reason Kairi should've gone with them...

Then again, he didn't want her to get hurt like he and Mickey currently were. Seriously, they had just started fighting and Mickey was already down and Riku already had low health.

He needed to finish this fast.

Riku gathered up his remaining strength and gave the tower one last strike.

The tower broke apart thanks to that. Finally.

Riku took this time to run over to Mickey and give him a Potion, which the latter gratefully took. As Mickey stood back up, more Heartless replaced the ones they just killed.

"Be careful, Riku!" Mickey called out to him. "It's not over yet."

Another demon tower erupted behind Riku. The silver-haired boy, however, didn't manage to get out of the way in time, having just noticed it.

One moment, Riku was facing the demon tower standing over him, coming at him with full force. The next, he was on the ground, Mickey having pushed him out of the way.

"Mickey!" Riku called out, after watching Kingdom Key W fall to the ground.

The demon tower persisted, not letting Riku catch a glimpse of Riku within the dark storm that it was causing.

Finally, after what felt like ages, the demon tower reformed itself to a black ball of Darkness. Riku could only watch as a humanoid figure, covered in Darkness, emerged from the ball and landed softly on the sand below, leaving behind a Mickey trapped within that ball - like a prison.

Mickey opened his eyes, causing Riku to breathe a quick sigh of relief – Mickey was not dead yet.

However, the dark figure walked forward and picked up Kingdom Key W and looked at it – almost as though they could feel the major boost of magic running through it.

"This Keyblade..." the figure spoke. It sounded female.

Mickey immediately recognized her voice, and gasped, "Is it her?"

The figure stood along the shoreline, facing towards the water, as if thinking.

"Mickey...you finally came back for me," the figure said as the darkness dissipated, revealing a woman with white hair and black clothes. "I'm so flattered," the woman turned around to reveal golden eyes on the face of Aqua. "But you're too late."

"_Aqua_?" Riku muttered.

Mickey's face was filled with guilt and sympathy, "What happened?"

"You abandoned me, that's what," Aqua replied coldly, standing in her signature battle pose. "You left me in this shadow prison for more than a decade, knowing what it would do to me..."

"I'm sorry," Mickey muttered. "It's all my fault."

Aqua turned back to the shore and walked until she was walking on water. "I reached this shore after endless wandering. I waited forever for help to arrive. But no one ever came. I lost my Keyblade. I had no means of fighting my way back through the Heartless. You should have know I was stranded. Do you have any idea how lonely it is here?" Something within Riku made him listen harder to her in that moment. "How frightening it is to have no one?" Aqua stopped walking. "All that's left in my heart is misery and despair...and now, you can share it!" She turned back around to face them, ready to fight.

Mickey watched Riku walk forward, Way to Dawn back in his hand, and stood on the shore. "You don't know me, Master Aqua," he said. "My name is Riku. I am a Keyblade Master, just like you. A couple of years ago, you helped us close the door to Kingdom Hearts and restore the worlds. I'm sorry I didn't realize this until a few weeks ago, but you saved me. So let me save you now."

"You don't know what it's like to be a Keyblade Master," Aqua sneered. "All of your friends were once your equals, but now you're above them. Now, you're all alone. Now, you have no one."

"That may be so," Riku, however, was unfazed, "but I know exactly who I want to protect. Even if they don't know, or don't appreciate it, they are the most important people in my life. Sora and Kairi..._I fight for them_!"

Riku rushed forward, striking first. A solid hit, and at first, he thought he had her, but he glanced up just in time realize that it was a clone she was projecting.

Useful information came back to him – from Mickey – and reminded him that Aqua was a very powerful mage. Her specialty was magic, and Riku's specialty was not magic – it was using Darkness to the Light's advantage.

Riku rushed forward again, but Aqua – the real one – easily blocked his shot. This time, Aqua swiped at him, and Riku barely blocked her attack with Way to Dawn.

The force she bit down on him with was inhuman – almost as though she were a Heartless herself instead of a human. It wasn't anything he was used to.

"Tch," came another sneer from Aqua. "You're weak."

Physically, yes. It was obvious that he was no match for her. It made sense, though, as Aqua was his senior and had been fighting longer than him.

Riku swung again, and Aqua easily dodged his attack. Another swing, another block. Another swing, and their swords clash, and Riku is caught off-guard by Aqua sending a swift, powerful kick to his gut.

Water blocks Riku's view as he's sent flying backwards, his feet scrapping against the dark waves, and Aqua doesn't give him room to breathe.

One moment she's running straight at him with unnatural speed, and then next, she's directly above him, Kingdom Key W held above her, about to deliver a powerful strike that she and Riku both know for certain he will not be able to take if he doesn't dodge it in time.

But he can't dodge. He's too tired, his health is too low to continue on, and Way to Dawn has a crack in it - all of which he knows is not good, especially the last one.

Riku closed his eyes, waiting for the strike.

At first, he thought Aqua gave up or chose not to, but he was wrong, as a literal second later, a powerful pain erupts from his chest.

He's falling and falling, and he hits the water, suddenly unable to breathe.

"Is that all you've got?" He heard Aqua taunt him. Her voice is muffled, as she's still above water, and he is now submerged below the surface. "Tch. Pathetic."

"Riku!" He heard Mickey's muffled voice call out for him. "Wake up!" It made him painfully aware that Mickey was being forced to watch that fight unfold, and was unable to help.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Way to Dawn – or what was left of it. It was the blade part, the hilt having fallen on the beach above him. It was falling next to him, as if taunting him about his failure.

He was suffocating. He had to swim back up to the surface. He had to escape the Darkness that was now threatening to swallow him.

_But he couldn't move._

His body was in too much pain to fight back.

His mistake was underestimating Aqua, and definitely underestimating how strong the Darkness was in this place.

Wait...who was Aqua? Who was calling out to him, wanting him to wake up? Why was he so panicked?

Who was he? Where was he? Where did he come from?

_**"Riku..."**_ he heard a female voice call out to him.

Riku opened his eyes to a bright light surrounding him, warding off the Darkness. He saw a girl with red hair and blue-violet standing within the Light.

"Kairi..." he muttered.

_**"Riku,"**_ Kairi called out to him again, _**"you must survive. It's not your time to die yet."**_

"Kairi..." he muttered again, this time, reaching out his hand to grab hers, calling out to her.

Her hand immediately wrapped itself around his and pulled him up into the light.

Once the light faded, Riku was lying on his back against a stone-brick ground. The sky was dark, the moon was out, the stars were shining, and flowers were blooming all around him.

_Hollow Bastion..._

He was back in the Realm of Light. Kairi had saved him from the Darkness.

Riku slowly sat up as his memory of the past few minutes came back to him. He remembered but he needed time to process what had happened to him.

Mickey was captured the demon tower, which was being controlled by Aqua, who was now being controlled by the Darkness itself.

Using Mickey's Kingdom Key W, Aqua managed to easily overpower Riku, even breaking his Way to Dawn in half in the process.

But he was rescued and brought back to the Realm of Light by Kairi.

Now? Now, he had no Keyblade and no way of going back into the Realm of Darkness to save Mickey, as Mickey was the only one who could open the door.

Tears stung his eyes.

_What was he going to do?_

Kairi had saved him, and he needed to pay her back.

First things first, heal and recover, and make another Keyblade.

"I'll come back for you both, Mickey and Aqua," Riku vowed to the starry night sky. "I promise."

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Monstropolis~**

The group had been led to the main floor without an explanation. Why were they brought here? Who brought them here?

Their confused thoughts were interrupted by them seeing a boy wearing an Organization coat and a helmet that covered his entire head.

Immediately, Kairi felt sick. This boy's heart was filled with nothing but darkness, but it was incomplete, just like Ven's.

"Who are _you_?" Lea asked him.

_**"That's him,"**_ Ven told her, his voice hard with emotion – specifically anger and sorrow. _**"He's the one controlling the Unversed."**_

Kairi felt glad that she was still in Blitz Form, but she had a fleeting feeling that it wouldn't be enough to beat this guy.

_**"He was at the cathedral,"**_ Sora added, as if having his own revelation.

"I gotta say, I'm impressed," the boy said, his voice deep and soaked in darkness and pain. Kairi felt her heart twist painfully under all the emotions she was feeling from him – emotions that were nothing but negative. "That strange facade had me fooled at first, brother."

Everyone else was confused. _Who was he talking to?_

"Who are you?" Kairi asked in a trembling voice. He and Ventus had the same heart, and she was wondering why that was.

"My apologies, Your Highness," the boy turned to Kairi. "We haven't ever met in the flesh. I am _Vanitas_."

The name seemed to strike a bell with Donald and Goofy, and Kairi was intrigued as to why.

"This is the part where you spout some mumbo jumbo and disappear, right?" Lea asked, not in the mood for this guy's nonsense.

Vanitas walked over to a nearby work station. "This whole world...was powered by scream. They converted the screams of human children into energy." He grabbed a scream canister. "And this very company was what made it all happen." He slowly walked back to stand in front of the group again. "It's as rich a source of negative emotion as we'll ever find."

So, that's what he was doing with his Unversed and the doors, Kairi realized. He needed more time to collect screams. But why?

"For the last time, we already stopped doing that!" Mike cried out.

"Did you?" But Vanitas was unfazed. "Then how do you explain all these canisters of surplus scream? This facility was everything I could hope for. And I was lucky enough to find a pawn whose heart was darkened by thoughts of darkness."

"You mean Randall," Mike muttered in realization.

"All Randall ever cared about was winning," Kairi regretfully informed Mike and Sulley, tears threatening to fall, her fists clenched in anger for not realizing this before. "And Vanitas took advantage of that weakness. Randall was never a bad guy...just a puppet for this guy's game."

"As you know, Princess," Vanitas continued, "my heart is made of just one thing."

"Negative emotions," Kairi muttered.

"Correct," Vanitas replied. "And the Unversed collected enough screams and sadness from those children to reconstruct it."

So, that was why. He needed to collect enough screams to reconstruct his heart.

"Yeah," Mike said, before thrashing in anger, Sulley gratefully holding him back, "and the whole time they were trashing our company in the process!"

"But, even with all this negative emotion," Vanitas continued, "my heart is still incomplete. I need something else."

Vanitas dropped the canister he was holding, which then flew around the room, screams coming from its open spout.

Everyone's eyes followed it until it rolled on the ground and stopped just short of Kairi's feet.

_**"Kairi, run,"**_ Ven suddenly ordered. _**"NOW!"**_

Kairi immediately turned around only to be met with a Keyblade – Vanitas' _**Void Gear**_ – right in her face.

And immediately, Kairi was trembling. All the pain and suffering in his life – past, present, and even future – was choking her heart, making it difficult to call upon her Light.

And the fact that she couldn't see his face seemed to only make it worse.

"The half of me that sleeps on inside of your heart," Vanitas told her.

_**"BACK OFF, VANITAS!"**_ Everyone in the room was caught off-guard by the voice that spoke alongside Kairi's, including Kairi herself.

Kairi covered her mouth in disbelief, as Lea immediately recognized the voice, "V-Ven...? Is that you?"

He knew it was Ventus. He and Roxas may have shared a face and a voice, but their features were actually quite discernible – Ventus had a lighter tone than Roxas did.

Vanitas, however, seemed to smirk, "Ventus...What a strange place to slither off to..." He reached out to a still vulnerable Kairi. "You insignificant _speck_."

Kairi immediately slapped his hand away with as much strength as she could muster. "You're _not_ touching him!"

No one noticed Boo, Mike, and Sulley sneaking past them.

"You have no idea what happened, do you?" Vanitas asked. "No one tells you anything. You're always in the dark about everything, aren't you?" When Kairi didn't reply, Vanitas knew he had successfully struck a chord with her. "Well, let me tell you now – the whole truth, and I'd be impressed if he remembered. But you see, when Sora was little, he formed a special bond with a boy named Ventus who joined with his heart."

"Ven!" Donald called out in sudden realization. It seemed like he knew what was going on now.

"One of the missing Keyblade wielders is inside Sora's heart?" Goofy asked. "If only we could find Sora and ask him...and why is Ven inside Kairi then?"

"You can ask him right now," Vanitas said, sending a knowing look Kairi's way.

Kairi gulped. Vanitas knew where Sora's heart was.

"W-What are you talking about?" Kairi tried to play it off as Vanitas only messing with their minds, as she took three steps back.

Vanitas gave a single chuckle, as if humored by all of this, "Hey, Sora. I'm about to kill your girlfriend. I really hope you don't mind."

He said this very calmly, as if he was absolutely sure that he was right.

_**"Of course I mind, you jerk!"**_ Along with Kairi's voice came another that the other Guardians immediately recognized. _**"Don't you dare touch her!"**_

"Sora!" Donald and Goofy both called out, both looking at Kairi with tearful joy on their faces. They had finally found Sora.

Granted, it took them one of their enemies to point it out, but at least they knew where he was now.

Kairi covered her mouth again, trying to pretend as if Sora didn't just out himself to the enemy.

Vanitas, however, merely smiled under his mask. "Now, if you please, Your Highness," he addressed Kairi again, strong Darkness now surrounding his body, "you will return Ventus to me."

Kairi felt her heart violently pulsate, as if Vanitas was trying to break it apart. She cried in pain before falling to her knees, reverting out of Blitz Form and back into her monster form.

She expected more harm to be done to her, but when she glanced up, she saw Light and Darkness clashing.

Donald and Goofy were standing between her and Vanitas, blocking the latter's attacks aimed at her, protecting her.

"Donald...Goofy..." she muttered.

"The King told us about this," Goofy informed Kairi, as his shield blocked Vanitas' Darkness. "Ventus and Vanitas were once the same person, but Ventus wasn't able to defeat his dark half. They struck each other down, and then the King said that Ventus' heart never returned to his body."

"You're not touching Kairi!" Donald sternly told Vanitas. "Or any of the people in Kairi's heart! _No way_!" Donald used his magic to completely get rid of Vanitas' Darkness coming at them.

"Stay out of this," Vanitas, sounding pissed off, threw a wave of Darkness at Donald and Goofy, pushing them far enough away where they couldn't reach Kairi.

Kairi glanced behind her at the pile that was the disarmed Donald and Goofy. She turned back to Vanitas, who just ducked a swing from Lea's Flame Liberator and immediately sent a swift palm strike to the ex-Nobody's stomach, sending the latter flying back into the desk behind him.

Now, with no one else in the way, Vanitas closed in on Kairi again. Kairi got back to her feet, producing Destiny's Embrace in a last ditch effort to fight back, but Vanitas swiftly knocked her Keyblade out of her hand with his own.

Destiny's Embrace hit the floor with a clang as Kairi found Void Gear once again pointed in her face.

"KAIRI!" She heard Lea calling out for her.

Vanitas could see Ventus in Kairi's place. He was so close, right there, "Now, join your heart...with mine!"

However, Vanitas turned around when he sensed a presence behind him.

"Made you look," Sulley said, before roaring in Vanitas' helmet covered face – a roar so loud that Mike had to cover Boo's ears.

The roar made Vanitas drop Void Gear in shock and Sulley immediately picked him up by the arms.

Vanitas struggled to be free from his monster bonds, "Let me go!"

Sulley turned to Mike as the latter, who had summoned four doors, announced, "Over here, Sulley!" Mike opened the first door.

After throwing Vanitas into the open doorway, he told Mike to, "Close it! Quick!" Mike did so, before running to and opening the second door.

Sulley threw the first door into the doorframe of the second one, and they repeated the process with the second door going into the third door, and then the third door going into the fourth door.

And they quickly shredded the fourth door into pieces. Mike and Sulley high-fived after watching this happen.

Meanwhile, Boo ran over to Kairi. "Are you alright?" She asked the elder girl.

"Y-Yeah," Kairi coughed hoarsely. "You guys saved us. Thank you."

Donald, Goofy, and Lea had all recovered and quickly ran over to check on Kairi as well.

"Yeah, thanks for saving Kairi," Lea said. "We owe you one."

"Actually, _we_ should be thanking _you_," Sulley corrected with a smile. "We never would have managed to get this far if you hadn't come along to help."

"And we finally found her door," Mike added, pointing to the white door with pink flowers on it.

Kairi, still kneeling – recovering from her run-in with Vanitas – turned to Boo, "I know how excited you were to play with Mike and Sulley after so long. Sorry we dragged you into this."

"It's okay," Boo replied. "Don't be afraid to be smile, Kairi. You deserve it. " And with that, Kairi and Boo wrapped each other in a big, tear-filled hug.

The moment was short-lived, however, since it was time for Boo to head home.

She waved once last goodbye before heading into her room with Sulley.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Lanes Between~**

After saying goodbye to Mike and Sulley – who told them they could come back anytime they wanted despite causing so many headaches, and then to Donald and Goofy – who also said a farewell to Sora before taking off, Kairi and Lea were now back in their Gummi Ship, and back in human form.

Lea leaned back in his seat, grateful that they didn't have to visit that world anymore.

"Man, that was one exhausting mission," Lea said, right before Kairi's Gummiphone. Kairi immediately answered as Lea got in the shot too.

It was Master Yen Sid.

_**"Greetings, Lea and Kairi,"**_ the old man said. _**"Donald and Goofy have already given me a status report. The third New Heart is secured, as is Sora's heart."**_

"Yes, sir," Kairi calmly replied. She didn't feel like lying anymore. Not only did the Guardians know, but so did their enemy.

_**"Take good care of Sora, Kairi,"**_ Yen Sid informed her, and Kairi tiredly nodded.

"I will."

_**"Now that the enemy also knows where Sora's heart is, they have made their first move with Sora's body,"**_ Yen Sid regretfully informed.

"What?"

_**"Sora's body has broken through the barrier and is now gone. He must have disappeared into the night in order to avoid detection or confrontation."**_

"Probably both," Lea suggested.

_**"Perhaps,"**_ Yen Sid replied, before Kairi brought up something else.

"Any news on Riku?" Kairi asked. "My heart just went out to him, like he was in trouble."

Yen Sid was quietly for the longest time, _**"Yes. Riku has successfully escaped the Realm of Darkness. However, he is alone and in quite bad shape. Do not attempt to go see him, either of you,"**_ he sternly added, direction those instructions more to Kairi than Lea. _**"Focus on your own mission. Riku will be fine."**_

Lea and Kairi both nodded, not saying a word.

_**"That is all for now,"**_ Yen Sid quieted his voice. _**"May your hearts be your guiding key."**_

And with that, Yen Sid hung up, and Kairi lowered her blank-screened Gummiphone.

Lea was not blind to Kairi's foul mood, and he knew why:

Riku had failed to bring Aqua back and had come back alone and not well at all.

Sora's body was now officially taken over by Xehanort and had escaped to his master's side at all. _And why had Sora's body escaped?_

Because thanks to Vanitas, both sides now knew where Sora's heart was.

Kairi could feel a crack appear in her heart as a tear rolled down her cheek.

_Why was this happening to her?_

_**"I'm sorry, Kairi,"**_ came Sora's voice. _**"We all are."**_

_**'Don't apologize,'**_ Kairi replied. _**'Any of you. None of this is either of your faults.'**_

Kairi blinked when a bar of Sea Salt Ice Cream – which Lea stockpiled the Gummi Ship's fridge with before they took off – was held in front of her. "Lea..."

"Cheer up, Princess," came her partner's calm and gentle voice, which matched his smile. "We still have a chance to win."

Kairi sniffed and took the popsicle before asking, "How do you know?"

"Because Xehanort needs Sora's heart in his possession to put Sora himself beyond the boundary of saving," Lea pointed. "And he doesn't have him yet, so that means that _Sora can still be saved_. And if your heart went out to Riku and saved him, you can bet that not only is he perfectly fine, but he's also more determined than ever to save Aqua and Mickey. Besides..." Kairi watched Lea take a bite of his ice cream, "they both know you'll always be there for them no matter what. After all, all three of you are best friends. Right?"

Lea mentally breathed a sigh of relief when Kairi finally smiled – it was small, but it was there – and finally took a bite of her ice cream.

"Mmm!"

"How is it?" Lea asked her.

"It's salty, but also sweet," Kairi commented, before taking another bite. "I can see the appeal of it."

Lea gave her a content smile, both enjoying their ice cream and content to just take a break before heading on to the next world that needed their help.

_**To Be Continued…**_

_**!~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~3~~R~E~W~R~I~T~E~~!**_

A/N: Sorry that it's so long. I didn't feel like splitting it up into smaller chapters. While I am a big fan of Kingdom Hearts, I just recently got into the fandom. _**So if I get anything wrong, I'm sorry. Please, no flaming. Instead, just politely inform me in a PM or a review**_, so I can correct any mistake I make.

**About Kairi's Drive Forms:** Yes, they will be a thing. However, they work differently than Sora's Drive Forms in KH2 and his Formchanges in the canon KH3. Kairi's Forms allow her to connect with the heart of one of her allies (i.e. Namine or Ventus), _**not physically**_, and temporarily borrow their Keyblade(s) and Command Style(s). However, they must be **A)** already be connected to her, and **B)** willing to fight alongside her.

I know many of you think it's rather early for everyone to learn where Sora's heart really is, but I have bigger plans down the road.

The third of the six new Hearts is _**Boo/Mary Gibbs **_from Monsters, Inc. _**Next World: Big Hero 6/San Fransokyo**_.

Also, if anybody has any ideas or questions, or even suggestions about where to take the story next, please PM me.


	5. Chapter 4: Liberosis

A/N: Here's the next chapter. Featuring: the world of Big Hero 6!

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Disney in any way, shape, or form! I only own an OC who will appear later in the story, two chapters from now._

**Note:** The cover of this story _**(see above)**_ is what Kairi looks like in this story.

Grab some ice cream or lemonade or something, because things are really heating up now.

_**!~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~3~~R~E~W~R~I~T~E~~!**_

**Let Me Face My Fears**

**Chapter 4:** _Liberosis_

_**"The desire to care less about things."**_

**~San Fransokyo~**

_What were these things?_

Hiro Hamada, perched on Baymax' back, monitored his teammates' status through his visor. They weren't doing very well.

These monsters first appeared about an hour ago – via the news – and fifteen minutes later, all six members of Big Hero 6 were suited up and fighting the monsters together.

Monsters that were small and black, yet seemingly invincible.

After seeing Fred take a nasty hit to his arm, Hiro made a decision, and called his team over the intercom, "Guys, until I can figure out a way to defeat them, just focus on protecting people who can't defend themselves."

_**"Right!"**_ He heard four separate answers similar to this and he was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. At least they were all on the same page – and still alive.

Hiro looked down at Baymax, "Baymax, can you scan the monsters? See if they have any weakness?"

"I already have," Baymax replied. "I am unable to accurately determine what they are."

Fred gasped, _**"They're aliens!"**_

_**"Highly doubt it,"**_ GoGo grumbled at him. _**"They're probably machines."**_

_**"On the contrary,"**_ Baymax explained, _**"they have an anatomy of what appears to be human, but there are many discrepancies that I am unable to pinpoint an accurate reading."**_

Fred gasped again, _**"They're zombies!"**_

Wasabi groaned, _**"Zombies are just fictional, Fred! Don't make me laser-hand you in the face!"**_

_**"Get in line, Wasabi,"**_ GoGo replied.

_**"Take it easy, guys,"**_ Honey interjected, before yelping in pain.

"Honey Lemon, you okay?" Hiro immediately asked.

_**"Yeah, I'm fine,"**_ Honey replied. _**"One of them hit my leg, but I can still walk."**_

_**"Hiro, please, find a way to beat these things,"**_ GoGo urged Hiro.

"I'm trying my best," Hiro had been observing these monsters the entire time. "I just need a little more time."

_**"We can't hold on for long,"**_ GoGo replied, before crying out in pain, and Hiro could barely react when a blur of yellow and black came flying over his head. He looked back and saw that it was GoGo, who was lying on the ground, not moving. Panicking, he climbed off of Baymax and kneeled next to his friend.

"GoGo, you okay?" Hiro asked, hand on her shoulder. "Baymax?"

Baymax was right beside him, and, while scanning her, said, "GoGo's suit has shielded her from a major injury, but the blow she sustained to her head has caused a mild concussion. We should take caution and not move her until we can fully stabilize her head."

Hiro breathed a sigh of relief – thank goodness he made the suits with the materials he did. GoGo was okay.

A jelly slide formed in an instant beside them, and Honey came sliding down, Wasabi right behind her. On Hiro's other side, Fred jumped down and quickly joined them.

"Dude, we're surrounded," Fred revealed. "They're too strong."

In that moment, the unexpected – yet highly welcomed – happened. A red-haired girl in pink and black clothing, jumped on Baymax's shoulders, and used them as a launch pad.

_**"Heal!"**_ The girl called, and a green light – with flowers – flowed from her weird flower-covered sword to Hiro and his team. She then turned to her right and said, "Lea, go take care of those Heartless. I'll take care of these guys."

"Roger that, Princess!" a red, spiky-haired in black and orange clothing replied before running forward with his flame sword. A tan dog with a green collar barked at him as he left.

The girl then turned to them, a gentle smile on her face, and asking, "Are you guys okay?"

Hiro stood up to speak to their saviors. As the team leader, it was only fitting, "Yes. Thank you. My name is Hiro Hamada, and we're Big Hero 6. You would mind helping us fight those things?"

The girl nodded. "Of course! That's why we're here." She whistled at her friend, and called out to him, "Lea, quit grandstanding! People are getting hurt!" She then turned to the dog, "Pluto, sit and protect these guys." The dog barked in confirmation, before the girl ran forward, her flower sword in hand. _**"Wind!"**_

The girl was then surrounded by a green wind – _**Aerora**_ – and she launched herself forward at the nearest enemy – apparently called a Heartless – creating a tornado that took out the Heartless.

Hiro observed her fighting style as she continued using various elements to take out the monsters. It seemed like her sword was the key to using her powers.

After the guy – named Lea – used a pair of chakrams to take out the group he was facing, the girl – they still didn't know her name – extended the keychain of her sword and used it to swing her sword around – she called it _**Flower Raid**_ – reaching and taking out Heartless in places that weren't easily accessible.

Once all the Heartless were gone, the girl caught her sword, satisfied with the fact that the area was clear and her mission was completed.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

The group Kairi and Lea saved stood around Hiro's computer, all six of them out of their suits, looking at a newspaper clipping on the monitor, titled _**'MYSTERIOUS MONSTERS ATTACK!'**_

"Not cool," the girl that had the yellow suit grumbled.

"People like spectacle, not truth," the girl that had the pink suit replied, as the group broke their gazes from the computer as Hiro turned it off.

"Yeah, who needs quality reporting when you can just make stuff up?" The guy that had the green suit sassed back.

"I don't get it," the guy that had the blue monster suit asked. "I mean, didn't they see how awesome we were?! Sure, those things landed a couple of good hits, but we had chem-balls, and laser hands, and fire-breathing!"

"Well, it really didn't matter," Pink replied. "They beat us."

"Where did they come from?" Yellow asked.

"Well, why don't we ask the guys who actually stopped 'em?" Green asked, the group turning to her and Lea – and Pluto, who wagged his tail without a care in the world.

"We never really introduced ourselves," Pink noticed.

"Oh, yeah," Hiro said, before getting out his chair. "That's right. This is GoGo."

Yellow greeted the trio with a simple, "Hmm."

"He's Wasabi."

Green smiled, "How ya doin'?"

"This is Honey Lemon."

Pink waved at them, "Hello there."

"The weirdo here is Fred."

Blue waved at them as well, "Yo! And I embrace my weirdness."

"And the robot here is named Baymax."

Baymax did a mechanical wave. "Hello, I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion."

Hiro then turned to the trio, "And you guys are...?"

Kairi spoke up, "I'm Kairi. He's Lea, and the dog is Pluto."

"We're Keyblade Hero 3!" Lea's outburst caused a silence throughout the room.

Kairi's snicker broke the uncomfortable pause, "Lea, we don't have a team name. And even if we did, it wouldn't be that. Besides, Pluto doesn't have a Keyblade."

So their swords were called _'Keyblades'_. That was good to know.

Kairi turned to Big Hero 6, and said, "We're called the _**Guardians of Light**_. There are seven of us."

Lea then solemnly revealed, "But two of us are currently missing, and the other three are currently, um..." she and Lea shared a concerned glance, "..._preoccupied_ with other missions. So, we're the only ones who could come and offer you guys aid."

The glance the two shared strongly indicated that they didn't want to talk about what _**'preoccupied'**_ meant.

Fortunately, GoGo broke the silence. "So, the monsters. Tell us how you managed to take them down."

"They're called the Heartless," Kairi replied. "They're the manifestation of people's hearts and are drawn to the darkness inside of them."

"They're people?" Honey asked, and Kairi and Lea both nodded.

"Ooh, now we're talking!" Fred exclaimed. "Light versus darkness! Classic conflict!"

"Would you calm down, Fred?" Wasabi demanded. "This is serious."

"Very serious," Honey agreed. "We don't have any way to fight them."

"Wait," GoGo didn't seem to like what this implied. "So we're just gonna give up?"

Baymax interjected, "With our current skillset, my analysis places our chances at 0.0000–"

"We get it, Baymax," Hiro interrupted him.

The six heroes sighed in defeat.

"Hey, don't sweat it," Lea spoke up. "Kairi and I can take care of the Heartless for you." The duo stood up and walked towards the garage door.

Hiro closed his eyes, thinking about what Tadashi would do. He then opened them, determined to do the right thing. "Wait. We're going too."

Lea and Kairi stopped and turned to face him.

"It's okay," Kairi shot him a soft smile. "We can handle it."

Hiro shook his head. "We have to help. My brother would have."

_His brother?_ Kairi asked herself. According to Hiro's emotions in that moment, as Kairi felt, his brother was very important to him, but something tragic happened to him.

Hiro's team nodded as his words.

_But his brother was very __**loved**__._

And Kairi smiled, "Okay. We can teach you."

"We have no idea how, though," Lea muttered to her. "They don't have Keyblades."

"We'll find a way," Kairi smiled at her partner. "We just have to look at it from a different angle."

Apparently, she just said something Hiro's brother would say, because a great fondness immediately erupted through Hiro and his team.

Hiro smiled and nodded, completely agreeing.

"Great, buuut..." Wasabi spoke up, "don't we need a plan?"

"We train up!" Fred cried out. "When heroes are brought low, they get new powers. It's _**shugyo**_ time!"

GoGo scoffed. "Did you read that in _Geek's Quarterly_?"

"_**Shugyo**_?" Lea and Kairi both asked.

"It means _'determined training that fosters enlightment'_," Hiro explained. "So, technically, Fred's not wrong. And I think I may have an idea about that."

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

After about a hour later, Hiro had created a visor, shaped like a pair of goggles - colored black, with pink highlights – in the same design as his team's helmets, and had given it to Kairi.

"_'AR device'_?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah," Hiro replied before explaining, "It creates a CG overlay that augments your vision. While you wear it, this device sees everything you do and logs it."

"Okay," Kairi replied before slipping it on over her face.

Right away, she saw a Shadow behind Hiro, who stepped aside, smiling, allowing Kairi to see it better.

She pondered whether or not to summon her Keyblade upon seeing it, as it was clearly there but she could not sense any emotions from it, and so, she tried to remember what Hiro explained to her, and shakily asked, "CG is _'computer generated'_, right?"

"Yep," Hiro replied, and Kairi lifted the visor, away from her eyes – the Shadow was gone. She slipped it back on and the Shadow was back.

"Hey, that is cool," Kairi smiled, feeling more at ease now she knew the Shadow in the room with them was not real.

Zexion – or Ienzo now, another new ally – had explained some basic computer stuff before they left in their Gummi Ships. Just in case they came across any technology, in order to blend in as well as make their job easier.

Hiro was sheepish as he accepted her praise, "Thanks. But so far, the map data only covers San Fransokyo. I still need to expand it."

"Now can we _**shugyo**_?" Fred asked.

"Not yet, Fred," Wasabi replied. "She's still learning."

Lea leaned an elbow against Kairi's shoulder. "Say, Princess, why do you get the cool stuff?"

"Because I'm the one with the skills, Pyro," Kairi replied. Lea was joking and so was she.

Honey Lemon giggled at their exchange before explaining to Kairi, "Okay, Kairi, all you need to do is run through some courses that Hiro scripted. Like a minigame."

"Okay." So far, she was following.

"We'll put a tracer on your movements so we can–!" GoGo was interrupted by Fred bouncing around the room with excitement.

"_**Shugyo, shugyo, shugyo**_!"

GoGo sighed, "So we can _**shugyo**_. Got it?"

Kairi nodded. Hiro was using CGI – computer generated images – to create Heartless that Kairi would fight against, and then Big Hero 6 would use Kairi's moves to adapt their skillset, so they could also defeat the Heartless.

Simple as that.

_**"What?"**_ Sora, though, was still confused.

_**'Don't worry about it,'**_ Kairi told him. _**'Just watch and learn.'**_ Sora learned things better by doing.

"Good," GoGo gave a small smile at Kairi when the latter nodded, implying that, yes, she understood everything.

"I can _**shugyo**_ by installing new combat data," Baymax informed them.

"Let's try it out," Hiro said.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

It was nighttime now, and GoGo, Honey, Wasabi, and Fred were back in their suits. Kairi had run ahead, after activating _**Majestic Form**_ – her Drive Form with Sora – which was a black color with red highlights and crown pattern, including a crown on top of her head.

It was a major power boost concerning all of her stats. She also had Sora's specialty concerning Formchanges – the special power the Fairies had sown into Sora's new clothes.

It was all Sora's idea. He made a good point by saying that his Formchanges would give the Big Hero 6 guys the most inspiration.

Besides, he had gotten excited by seeing how well Kairi had done with Namine's and Ventus' powers, and practically begged Kairi to Drive with _him_. He didn't have to beg very hard or for very long, however, as Kairi had easily and quickly agreed.

Now armed with Kingdom Key and Shooting Star – a Keyblade Master Yen Sid had given Sora sole custody of after his and Riku's Mark of Mastery test – Kairi was ready.

GoGo skated past Kairi, before glancing back at her, smirking. She couldn't wait to see what Kairi could do – she was awesome when saving them earlier.

GoGo was caught off guard when Kairi flew past her, like really flew, like a bird. GoGo noticed that there was a white light trailing behind the redhead, as if they were echoes in time – echoes of Kairi.

GoGo watched as Kairi used one of her Keyblades to swing around and up the nearest pole, before climbing up a wall, the white light still trailing behind her.

GoGo stopped to closely observe Kairi's Flowmotion, and a thought immediately came to her. _**"Interesting,"**_ she muttered. _**"To her, gravity is not binding."**_

As she was performing her Wall Run, Kairi's AR device alerted her to a CG Tireblade in flight mode. She easily slices through it with Kingdom Key, before seeing three more on her right. However, she easily took them out using Shooting Star as she jumped on the roof.

Wasabi saw Kairi land next to him on the roof. He watched as her two Keyblades transformed themselves into gun-like weapons.

Kairi fired the Double Arrowguns at the two Heartless next to Wasabi before turning them back into keyblades.

_**"Hey, wait,"**_ she heard Wasabi say, _**"My laser hands can be projectiles."**_

Kairi smiled to herself as she ran past him and jumped down on a ledge.

Honey Lemon looked down the ledge she was standing, before backing up, scared. She glanced over at Kairi on the rooftop below her and watched as the redhead combined both Keyblades to create a bazooka-like weapon.

Kairi fired the Magic Launcher to destroy the CG Pole Cannons in front of her, and she heard Honey comment, _**"Of course! Change the weapon, change the attack!"**_

Kairi smiled as she moved forward, climbing up the nearest wall. What awaited her at the top were some more CG Tireblades, in Wheel mode this time, but changed into Flight mode as soon as they saw her coming.

_**"Freeze!"**_

Fred watched as Kairi froze the CG Tireblades in a Blizzaga spell – in Majestic Form, Kairi's magic was stronger – and then a few moments later, the ice shattered, and they were all gone.

_**"Woah!"**_ He exclaimed, rather impressed. _**"A freeze attack! Fire...and ice,"**_ he muttered. _**"Diametrically opposed...or **__so we thought__**!"**_

Soon after that, the CG Heartless stopped coming, and Kairi assumed that meant Hiro had collected enough data.

Her hunch was correct when she jumped down onto a lower ledge from a higher one to stand on as her AR device deeped, signaling a call from Hiro.

When she answered, Hiro told her, _**"Thanks, Kairi. That should be enough data, and I think you also sparked some new ideas."**_

_**"Oh yeah!"**_ came GoGo's voice. _**"Hiro, I think there's a way to–"**_

However, she was cut off as the others started talking too. Kairi winced at the sudden storm of voices in her ear as they all told Hiro their new ideas, but she smiled at how excited they all sounded.

_**"Hey, are you listening?"**_ she heard Fred ask.

Hiro chuckled, before suggesting, _**"I can't listen to all of you at once. First one back to the garage gets to speak after GoGo."**_

_**"Why GoGo?"**_ Fred asked.

_**"Because I know that she's the fastest,"**_ Hiro replied.

Kairi giggled at their antics.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Hiro had indeed started with GoGo's upgrades first – adding an anti-gravity setting to her mag-lev disks, then on to Honey Lemon's – adding some updates to her chem-purse, then Wasabi's – adding a bullet setting to his laser hands, and then Fred's – adding an ice-breath setting in his suit.

He ended with Baymax's upgrades, by downloading a copy of Kairi's moves and stats onto a black and pink data chip, with a white heart symbol he drew on it.

When Hiro opened Baymax's access port, Kairi saw a green chip – containing healthcare information – already in there. There it was. That was it.

_That chip was Baymax's heart..._

After Baymax took a moment to process the new chip given to him, Hiro stood back, pleased with his work, "And that should do it." He then turned to Kairi. "While you were running the course, I was able to study Lea's Keyblade and determine that the keychain was what makes the Keyblade the way it is. And what makes the keychain is the wielder's own heart." Kairi nodded, and Hiro presented her a keychain, a string of Honey's chem-balls, with the token being the symbol of Baymax's green healthcare chip. "From all of us. I made it myself. Hopefully, it's effective."

"Only one way to find out," Lea shrugged, before Kairi hooked up the keychain to her Destiny's Embrace.

The mainly-red Keyblade it transformed into was called Nano Gear – which had an all-round stats boost.

Fred immediately got excited at the sight, "I love it! It's all our powers combined!"

"It turned out better than I expected," Hiro commented.

It was rather heavy, at least to Kairi, but she still planned on using it. "Thank you."

Hiro's computer came to life with a news report, _**"We interrupt your scheduled program to deliver this breaking news. Moments ago, the city's South District was attacked by numerous unidentified creatures. Witnesses describe losing sight of victims during the missing victims. City police are urging citizens to stay at home. For those just joining us, only minutes ago, the South District was attacked by–"**_ Hiro turned it off.

Hiro and Kairi both turned to the others, and said, "It's go time."

The others nodded in agreement.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

The morning sun shined down on the citizens of San Fransokyo as mysterious creatures they didn't recognize were attacked by the heroes they had come to appreciate and respect.

Because, unlike yesterday, Big Hero 6 appeared to have found a way to beat these enigmatic enemies, as well as gained three new allies – two humans and a dog.

Kairi used Nano Gear to slice down a Tireblade, before landing and using her AR device to look around at the Big Hero 6 members. Lea was holding his own against the large Catastrochorus Heartless that had just showed up, but she was concerned about Hiro and his team.

GoGo was running away away from the Heartless – Soldiers and Tireblades in flight mode – with her mag-lev disks.

"Just try and catch me," she taunted at them, before running up the wall, like she saw Kairi do last night.

Like she thought, the momentum was not enough, but GoGo activated the anti-gravity setting – which turned to lights on the disks from red to yellow – which allowed her to stay stuck to the wall as she turned around to face the Heartless that had followed her. GoGo then threw her disks at them, defeating them all in one swing.

Meanwhile, Wasabi's laser guns were working just fine, but he was having a hard time aiming at them, and wasn't hitting any of the Heartless in front of him.

Fortunately, Honey Lemon saw this and ran past him, summoning a chem-ball, "I've got an idea!"

Wasabi ran to her after her chem-ball caused a mist to cover the Heartless, "Hey! I can't aim if I can't see!"

Honey didn't say anything. She only summoned another chem-ball, smirking, before throwing it. This one froze the Heartless into a large plastic ball, like they were now melded with it, and it crashed to the ground.

Honey then turned to Wasabi, and asked, "Better?"

Wasabi smiled, "Much better." This allowed him to aim his laser guns at them, finally destroying the Heartless.

Meanwhile, Fred lept into action from the Wasabi had caused by destroying the Heartless in Honey Lemon's plastic ball.

"Freeze!" He called as he activated his Ice Beam, which froze the Heartless. Fred then breathed fire at them, but it melted the ice. Fred paused, confused, "Whuh? Oh, I get it..." He then leapt up in the air, and sprayed both fire and ice in a circular pattern while in the air, "It's a combo move!"

After Fred's group of Heartless was destroyed, Kairi smiled before heading off to help Lea with the Catastrochorus Heartless.

Meanwhile, Baymax fired his rocket fist, which was the last straw in defeating the Catastrochorus Heartless, while Hiro used his own upgrades – the ability to form magnetic energy fields – to destroy a Soldier that had lingered behind.

Kairi and Lea ran to Baymax as he landed, after seeing a pink heart rose from the ashes of the Heartless they were just fighting.

"Thanks for the assist, Baymax," Lea said before turning around to watch for.

"Nice one!" Kairi added.

Baymax held his fist out. Kairi stared at it in confusion.

"Huh?"

"Now we fist bump," Baymax told her.

"Fist bump?" Kairi asked, this term being completely new to her.

"To display excitement," Baymax informed. "Hiro taught it to me."

"So, like...this?" Kairi's fists gently bumped Baymax's.

"Bah-la-la-la-la-la-la," Baymax said, pulling his hand back, wiggling his fingers.

Confused, Kairi did the same thing, "Bah-la-la-la-la-la-la?" before her AR device beeped.

In another part of the city, Hiro turned around, only to find himself facing off against a large Heartless – a Metal Troll – by himself.

He turned around, surveying his surroundings. He was all by himself, and his magnets – even with the upgrades he gave himself – would never be enough to stop this Heartless.

But all the people that didn't know how to fight or defend themselves – especially against the Heartless – were counting on him fighting for them, and winning.

Despite his fears, Hiro stood into a fighting position.

_This was it. He would probably die fighting this Heartless._

Fortunately, he didn't have to. Because, in that moment, two bright blasts hit the Metal Troll. Hiro turned to the source of the blasts, and Kairi – in Majestic Form – landed beside him, before standing up, twirling her Double Arrowguns in her hands, as Lea – wielding Nano Gear – activated one of its Shotlocks – _**Cubic Stream**_ – on the Metal Troll to catch it off guard.

"Kairi, Lea!"

"My AR device noticed you were off by yourself," Kairi explained, as Lea landed on Hiro's other side. "So we raced here to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine," Hiro told her. "Thank you."

Kairi returned the smile he gave her, and in that moment, Hiro was reminded of Tadashi, his warm smile, how he always swooped in just in time to save the day, and especially how he died in that fire.

"You're welcome," Kairi's answer derailed Hiro's train of thought.

"Hiro!" He heard Honey Lemon call out. "We're here!"

Hiro turned to see his team running up to them, and smiled. He could always count on the others to be there.

Wasabi groaned, "Ugh! Can't we pick on one our own size?"

"Woman up, Wasabi," GoGo rolled her eyes at him. "It looks the right size to me."

"When our friends and the innocent are in danger," Honey Lemon said, "then no enemy is too big or too small to take on."

"That's right!" Fred exclaimed. "Watch me scorch 'em with my freeze-nado! The only tornado made of ice _and_ fire."

Kairi stepped forward, her Double Arrowguns pointed straight at the Metal Troll, "You took on the wrong Guardians, Heartless."

"And the wrong superhero team," Hiro added, before the entire group went into their individual battle stances.

Kairi and Lea leapt at the Metal Troll simultaneously and struck it, signaling the start of the fight.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

It was sunset now. The large group of heroes had just finished the fight and were now taking a well-deserved break by sitting on top of the Golden Gate Bridge, eating fudge popsicles. They're helmets and gloves were off, and everyone was just relaxing and goofing off. Everyone aside from Hiro and Kairi – who had taken off her AR device for the time being – were on the lower level, chatting it up, sharing fighting secrets, and just having a good time.

On the higher level, Hiro chuckled at all the talking down below before turning back to the sunset and answering the question Kairi just asked him – about Tadashi, as she was curious as to who he was, because she had noticed he kept popping up a lot, whether in conversation or by their emotions.

"Tadashi was my older brother," Hiro quietly explained to her. "He wanted to help people. Now, we try to do the same."

"_'Was'_?" Kairi asked, fully aware that she treading into dangerous territory.

"Yeah," Hiro sounded – and was – sad, just like Kairi predicted. "About a year ago, there was a fire. He went inside to save someone, and he never came back out." Kairi was about to give him her condolensences, but Hiro sadly smiled and continued to speak, "But he always wanted to make a difference. He cared about people. That's why he worked so hard to create Baymax."

Kairi was honestly sad after hearing that story, "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. You remind me of him in some ways," Hiro admitted to her.

Kairi paused, surprised at this, before smiling at him, "He must mean a lot to you. I wish I could have met him."

"He's still here," Hiro quickly said. "In Baymax. In all of us."

Kairi gave him a sad smile as she turned back to face the sunset. "The person may be gone, but the bonds they shared with others will always remain. It's difficult to get rid of that. The heart is stronger than the body and even the memory. Remember that."

"Right," Hiro nodded, agreeing. "He'll always be a part of us in some way."

Kairi glanced up at the clouds above the sunset, "And when you're not strong enough, he'll make up the difference."

She thought of Namine, how the blonde stepped in more than once to help Kairi fight evil.

The scene shifted to her – as Namine – watching the same sunset as Kairi. She looked over at Hiro, only to see Roxas in his place.

And immediately, Kairi knew that she had just come upon one of Namine's most inner desires...

_**To be with Roxas again, to watch the sunset with him and just be apart of life with her own friends.**_

Kairi snapped out of this when Hiro asked her, "Kairi, you okay?"

Kairi blinked. "Yeah. I'm fine." She then faced forward, Hiro following her, and placed a hand over her heart, feeling Namine's heart beat. "I'm with you," she whispered to her Nobody.

_And it was something Namine felt comforted by._

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

It was nighttime now, and the group was walking back to Hiro's garage, continuing to chat it up, when a swarm of black and red cubes flew past them.

Something that caught them all off-guard.

GoGo, apparently, thought it was another Heartless. "Great, they're back."

"Oh, we got this," Wasabi added.

"Time for a lesson," Honey Lemon said.

_"Cheee-aaarge!"_ Fred said, as he put his hood, and the four charged after the swarm of cubes, as Hiro stayed behind and lowered his visor, intent on surveying the situation from a safe distance.

"Wait, guys!" Hiro called after his team. "That one's not like the others!" But they were already gone. "It can't be. Microbots?"

"Microbots?" Lea asked. He and Kairi had hung back. "What are those?" They were different from Heartless, for sure, but what exactly were they?

"Microbots are designed to do whatever you think via a neural transmitter that communicates what you're–" Kairi cut him off.

"_Simpler_," she said, pointing to Lea's confused face.

Hiro softly sighed, "They're a kind of a mini-bot I invented. Some bad stuff happened and I thought that meant they were totally gone. But those enemies are way too similar. Which means someone's controlling them. The question is who." Someone came to mind in that moment. "Could it be?" He asked himself, before shaking his head, "I'm gonna go back to the garage and look into it some more. You mind going after 'em?"

"Not at all," Kairi said, as she slipped her AR device back on. "You go do what you have to."

"Right," Hiro said, before turning to Baymax. "Baymax, stick with 'em."

"Alright, Hiro," the robot replied. "Kairi, Lea, I will be your personal healthcare companion."

"Thanks, Baymax," Kairi said. "We're in good hands." He then faced forward. "C'mon! Let's move."

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

When Kairi finally caught up to the swarm, she and Lea quickly realized that the cubes were immune to attack, both physical and magic.

After firing a _**Fira**_ spell at the swarm, it moved away, using the freeway overpass in front of them as its guide.

"How are we supposed to beat these things?" Lea asked, as the two began chasing after it.

"I don't know. It's weird," Kairi replied, "but we'll find a way." As if on cue, Kairi's AR device beeped. Hiro was calling her. Kairi kept running after the swarm of cubes as she answered, Lea right beside her.

_**"Kairi, you guys alright?"**_

"Yeah, but the target escaped," Kairi replied. "We're pursuing it now. You got any leads?"

_**"Tons,"**_ Hiro answered, before bringing up a holo-image on Kairi's AR display, to help explain what he was about to talk about. _**"Somewhere inside that thing, there is a core. It's what powers the whole cluster. The core is the only way to hurt it."**_

_**"Ugh. Now he tells us,"**_ Wasabi groaned, before yelping in pain.

Upon hearing that, Kairi began to run a little faster.

Kairi wasn't the only one worried. _**"Wasabi! What happened?"**_ Hiro asked.

_**"Let's just say it's a handful,"**_ Wasabi replied.

Kairi glanced around her surroundings, her and Lea continuing to chase the swarm, as Hiro ordered, _**"Team, check in."**_

_**"So far, so good,"**_ Honey spoke up.

_**"Guys, I'm really tired of just dodging this thing,"**_ GoGo shot back.

_**"Freddie getting frustrated!"**_ Fred exclaimed.

Kairi could see the other four now. Honey Lemon had just created a ledge to stand up on.

_**"Guys, I'm on my way!"**_ Hiro said.

"No, Hiro!" Honey immediately protested.

"Hiro, you analyze the Darkubes," Fred told him as he froze the _'Darkubes'_ in front of him.

"Wait, did you just say _'Darkubes'_?" Wasabi asked.

"Yeah," Fred replied, as if it were that simple. "They're dark, they're cubes. I call 'em like I see 'em. Every bad baddies needs a cool name."

"Yeah, that's not cool," GoGo cut in, as Fred's ice melted.

Honey Lemon brought the conversation back to Hiro, as she produced another chem-ball, "We'll gather as much data from the Darkubes as we can." Her chem-ball made the platform underneath melt, just in time to avoid the Darkubes' attack.

Wasabi was firing his Laser Guns. "Hiro, figure out a way for us to beat this thing," he said, before jumping to avoid an attack. Meanwhile, GoGo ramped and landed beside Wasabi.

_**"But guys,"**_ Hiro interrupted, _**"I can't leave you out there all alone."**_

GoGo replied as she was outrunning the Darkubes, "Hiro. We are a team. And teams delegate. We need you at the garage. We trust you, so you trust us."

"They're right, Hiro," Kairi cut in. "You're the only one who can figure this out."

_**"You're right,"**_ Hiro replied. _**"All of you. Fine..."**_

"Copy that," they all told him.

_**"Kairi, I know I'm asking a lot, but could you and Lea please look after my team?"**_ Hiro asked her.

"It's no problem at all, Hiro," Kairi responded. "You can count on us." She then turned to Lea, who was still running beside her. "Let's go." Lea nodded, and Kairi turned to Baymax, who was flying behind them. "Time to go, Baymax!"

"Alright," Baymax replied.

Kairi rushed forward with a large burst of speed, Destiny's Embrace in her hand, before telling the others, "Huddle together, everyone. I have a way to bring your health back up."

Fred turned to look at her, "Is it the green glowy light from yesterday?"

"It's called _**'Cura'**_," Kairi corrected. "But yes." She turned to Lea and Baymax, "Baymax, while I heal them, you need to protect us."

"Alright."

"And Lea, hold off the Darkubes with whatever method you want."

"Say no more."

Baymax stepped in front of the other four, protecting them, while Kairi activated _**Cura**_ and Lea used his shotlock – _**Flame Salvo**_ – on the Darkubes, which understandably and expectedly did no damage whatsoever.

But by the time he was done, the other four were back in fighting shape, thanks to Kairi.

"Thanks, Kairi," GoGo said.

"No problem. Yeesh," Kairi winced, getting a good look at the Darkubes for the first time, "there's a lot of them."

"They're not attacking us," Lea noted. "Why?"

"I don't think we wanna found out," Wasabi replied.

Fred leapt forward, "I say we destroy this thing."

"I agree," Lea said. "But how?"

"Lea's right," Honey Lemon added. "Without a strategy, we'd just be wasting our strength."

"We just have to hold on," Kairi reminded them. "Sooner or later, Hiro will tell us where to strike."

As if on cue, Hiro's voice came over the intercom, _**"Kairi! I got it! I'm sending you an AR software update."**_ The download began. _**"It'll show you where the core is, the Darkubes' weak point. I'm coming to help."**_

But Kairi was caught off-guard when her visor suddenly turneed red. "Huh? That's weird. Is it busted?" A Corridor suddenly appeared and two figures in familiar black cloaks appeared. "Hiro, who's that on the display?"

"That's not the display, Kairi," Lea cut in, his jokester personality no longer coming through in his voice. "They're really here."

"The black coat..." GoGo muttered. "He's back?"

"Are you done messing around?"

Kairi immediately recognized that voice, "What? Wait, that voice..."

"Hold on," Wasabi cut in. "You know this guy?"

"Yeah..." Kairi softly replied. "They both feel familiar."

"And now, enter the supervillain," Fred said.

"He definitely has the vibe," Honey commented.

The figure that had spoken – the one with the familiar voice – took off his hood to reveal his identity. "Funny," he said.

He had Riku's face, but the classic silver hair was almost white, and his normally aquamarine eyes were gold.

"Did he fall to darkness after failing to save Aqua?" Lea asked.

"That's not Riku," Kairi replied. "His emotions are off."

"Tch," Dark Riku replied, as he summoned a red colored chip embedded with darkness. "As if this stupid experiment wasn't already a hassle."

_**"Where'd he get that?"**_ Hiro asked out of the blue, referring to the chip.

"You recognize it, Hiro?" Kairi asked.

_**"Yeah..."**_ Hiro muttered, his voice soft. He knew something the others didn't.

"Not quite ready," Dark Riku continued.

Hiro finally gained the courage to explain, _**"That's the first chip I made for Baymax. It's full of combat programs."**_

The other Big Hero 6 members were shocked at this. Apparently, this chip had a history.

"Programs?" Kairi asked.

_**"Yeah, they tell Baymax how to react."**_

"So, then, I was right," Kairi pondered over her earlier revelation, while looking at Baymax behind the group. "Those chips _are_ like his heart."

Meanwhile, Dark Riku turned to the Darkubes. "More then." He then threw the red chip into the Darkubes.

"Hey!" Kairi yelled out to Dark Riku as he and the other figure disappeared into another Corridor. "Get back here!"

The Darkubes then formed a force field around Kairi, leaving the others – including Lea – out, leaving Kairi as the only one able to fight it.

_**"Kairi, I'm on my way,"**_ Hiro told her, seeing the same thing as Kairi. _**"I'll look after Lea and my team. You fight the Darkubes! Remember to use the AR device to target the core!"**_

Kairi's hand tightened around Destiny's Embrace. "Got it." She then addressed Sora when she felt him call out to her, _**"Sora, you okay?"**_

_**"Drive with me,"**_ he replied. _**"Something's telling me that this is my fault."**_

That was strange, yet also intriguing.

What else was strange yet intriguing – and also worrisome – was that when she activated Majestic Form, she felt that Sora was extremely drained.

Sora easily felt her worry, _**"Don't worry about me. The Darkubes take priority."**_

Kairi paused, but agreed, "Okay," before raising Shooting Star and firing a _**Stopga**_ spell at the Darkubes when it revealed the core – which was a bright red, much larger cube – for a brief moment.

Kairi fired Majestic Form's final attack – _**Ragnarok**_ – but it failed to finish it off.

_But the AR device indicated that it was weak._

Kairi then formed the Magic Launcher and pointed it straight at the core. Sora made her pause as he explained the risks, _**"I can only muster up enough strength for one shot, Kairi. So, make it count."**_

"One shot is all I need..." Kairi softly muttered to him, her AR device indicating where the core was.

Kairi fired, and as soon as the shot hit the core, the entire scene was engulfed in light.

When it faded, Kairi watched the Darkubes slump over into a lifeless pile, like a pile of junk, and the force field – made of cubes – also fell. Only the core remained standing, but with a simple slash from Kingdom Key, the core was finished.

Kairi watched a heart symbol float to the sky in its place. She then glanced back down at the red chip Hiro was worried about.

Kairi heard Hiro run up to her from behind, obviously intending to retrieve the chip he knew so well.

But Dark Riku was already there, and picked up the chip before Hiro could get too close. "Oh, this isn't for you. At least, not until we're done." Hiro aimed a punch at him, but Dark Riku easily avoided his attack. He then turned to Kairi, "Hello, Princess."

"You're not Riku," Kairi replied, still in Majestic Form, a glare having formed over her face. "So stop pretending like you are!"

"But it is me, Princess," he politely responded. "I _am_ Riku."

"No, you're not!" Kairi shot back. "Riku wouldn't betray his friends! Not without a good reason!"

Riku being possessed by Ansem flashed through her mind. He only let the darkness embrace him because he wanted to save _her_, to get her heart back. And he was separated from her and Sora for a year because of it, during which he had a lot of time to reflect on his situation and what he would do differently if given a chance to redo it.

"Heh," Dark Riku was unphased by her outbursts. "A reason? When did that ever matter? We've been trying to one-up each other for Sora's attention since we were kids."

Kairi started. How did he know _**that**_? It was something personal that Riku and Kairi mutually agreed to bury and never bring it back up.

"Don't listen to him, Kairi," Lea cut in. "The coat means he's with Organization XIII! And _that_ is all the proof you need to know that he's not really Riku."

"You're definitely smarter than you look," Dark Riku said to Lea.

"You defeated Ansem and Xehanort – every last one of 'em. But still they all came back anyway, right? So, maybe this Riku _'came back'_ too, from the time when Ansem possessed him," Lea continued.

That actually made a lot more sense. That would explain how this Riku knew something only the real Riku would.

"Unlike a certain wizard you know," Kairi had a feel Dark Riku was referring to Merlin, "I had to play by the rules to travel through time. Which meant leaving my body behind."

"I heard about that," Kairi was brought back to when Sora told them all about Young Xehanort. "But...you _have_ a body."

"I do," Dark Riku said. "Xehanort's heart left his body in order to voyage back through time. He needed to tell his younger self of the great plans he had in store. There in the past, his heart stayed, and waited out the years until you and I came along. Xehanort's heart possessed me and became Ansem, the first adversary you faced. The rest of him, the piece he left behind, took the name Xemnas and created the first Organization. It was all a part of a larger plan to bring Xehanort into contact with the right hearts – enough of them to form the real Organization XIII. They could come from anywhere, any _when_...just as long as he had the right vessels at hand to place their hearts in."

"_'Vessels'_?" Kairi asked.

But Lea's mind went a different route. "The Replicas! Then _she_ was just...a test subject?!" The girl he couldn't remember, the girl he and Roxas had become friends with..._**her entire existence was a lie from the start**_.

And this made him angry beyond repair.

Kairi felt Xion's heart twinge inside her own. Kairi placed a free hand over her heart in an effort to comfort her.

_Xion must have been one of the first Replicas ever created._

That explained why her appearance was similar to Kairi's.

Dark Riku was unfazed by this, though, "That's right. The Replica Program was a success. We are as real as people."

"Hey." The second figure – still hooded – cut in, creating a silence all around the scene, "End it, before I do."

Kairi began sweating, and she could feel Sora's heart start beating rapidly. The second figure's voice was very familiar, like a cross between Sora's and Vanitas'.

"Relax," Dark Riku told his partner, "We're here to see if we can recreate a heart from data."

"What?" Hiro asked.

"So sorry," Dark Riku replied, holding up the red data chip. "Did we steal that idea? That walking balloon over there has a _'heart'_. At least, that's the nonsense I'm supposed to believe. But the Princess there can sense it, so it must have some substance."

"There are hearts all around us," Kairi cut in. "You only have to see them for them to become real."

"Where'd you get that?" Hiro asked Dark Riku. "That's my chip. I made it."

"Oh, well, I'm sorry about that," Dark Riku replied. "But I promise we'll put it right back where we found it."

"What do you mean?" Hiro asked, his voice trembling with uncertainty.

"I think we'll be getting back to work now," Dark Riku replied.

"Finally, back to the exciting stuff," the second – familiar – figure said, before they disappeared into another Corridor.

Hiro and Kairi both rushed forward. "Wait!"

But it was no use. They were already gone.

"We have to stop him," Hiro said.

"Not the way we are now," Kairi quietly told him.

"Kairi is correct," Baymax spoke up. "You are all suffering from acute exhaustion. I recommend rest."

Hiro paused, obviously sad and troubled by what just went down, "Yeah, you're right. Back to the garage..."

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

They were all in Hiro's garage now, the Big Hero 6 members out of their suits. It was deathly quiet. It was obvious that a lot of things were on each of their minds.

Well, aside from one.

"C'mon, guys," Fred said, running to the center of the room. "Did you forget that we WON?!"

"Fred," GoGo silently warned. "Not now."

Hiro addresses Kairi – who was back in her normal form – and Lea, "His name is Riku? And you know him?"

"That's not the real Riku," Kairi replied. "The real Riku is a Guardian of Light, like Lea and me."

"Yeah," Lea agreed. "That one's a fake, and the fake one is with Organization XIII, our arch-enemies."

"That's good to know," Wasabi said. "But how'd he get Hiro's chip?"

"And what did he mean about an experiment?" Honey Lemon asked.

"And what do they want?" GoGo added.

"We're still trying to figure that ourselves," Kairi honestly replied. "These guys, they show up, and instead of fighting fair and square, they go for the heart and say things to try and get under your skin. They're cowards. And now, they're doing the same thing to you guys, too. It's my fault."

"No, it's not, Princess," Lea cut in. "It's theirs for targeting this city. And even if it was, it'd be _our_ fault."

"Still," Kairi sadly added, addressing Hiro and his team, "we're sorry." She gently pet Pluto's head when he placed it on Kairi's knee, a comforting gesture.

"No, don't be," Hiro quickly told her. "This could be good. That chip may finally be able to give me some answers."

"You said that you made it, right?" Lea asked.

"Yeah," Hiro hung his head before continuing. He then motioned to the white balloon man standing beside him, "This Baymax – he's actually the second model." He turned to Baymax. "Um, no offense."

"I am a robot," Baymax replied simply. "I cannot be offended."

Hiro sadly smiled at him, before facing forward, towards Kairi and Lea, "It's a long story."

"We've got time," Lea gently cut in.

"Okay," Hiro replied. "The first Baymax, made by my brother, and the chip I made, the one you saw...they both vanished into another dimension along with the microbots. The chip is back, so...the first Baymax might be back, too."

"Hiro..." Honey Lemon muttered in worry.

Baymax broke the silence that followed, "Those who suffer a loss require support from friends and loved ones."

They all stopped when the ground suddenly shook violently.

"What was that?" Fred asked.

"No idea," Wasabi replied.

Hiro quickly ran over to his computer, quickly joined by Kairi, and began typing. Soon after, a newspaper article popped up, titled _**'MYSTERIOUS MONSTERS RENEW ATTACKS'**_.

Hiro and Kairi, once again, spoke simultaneously, "Guys, c'mon!"

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

It was morning now, and the ground was in the city, all suited up, standing on a rooftop, where the Darkubes, still lifeless were.

"Hope it's learned some new tricks," GoGo commented.

"Yeah," Wasabi agreed. "Now, it's gotta face _all_ of us."

"That's right," Honey Lemon said, as Baymax landed behind the ground.

"Freddy want to destroy!"

"Our probability of success is–"

Hiro swiftly cut Baymax off, "You don't have to crunch the numbers, Baymax." He then walked forward to standing in front of the ground, alongside Kairi. "It's not the sum of our parts–"

Kairi finished, easily, "–but the sum of our hearts."

"Hm, which adds up to what?" Dark Riku was back. The group looked all around for him, before finding him above them, standing on a blimp, his partner – still hooded – standing right next to him. "Show me," he told them, before summoning Soul Eater and leaping down, slashing the core of the data dubes. When he landed, he sheathed Soul Eater and smirked at the group, "Almost there." The group could only watch as Dark Riku turned to the pile of lifeness cubes and kicked a trio of them to the side. "This pile of junk collected the data we needed...the terror of being attacked without warning...the despair of having no place to run...the longing for vengeance..."

"A heart is more than fear and revenge!" Kairi immediately cut in. "It's working together, smiling at something funny, trusting friends. In every heart, there's hope. That's something the real Riku knows and always takes to heart!"

"You're right."

Dark Riku's response caught her off-guard. "Huh?"

"You're right, Princess," Dark Riku replied. "That's why we made sure our creation fought _you_. Now the data contains a complete heart."

"A heart made of conflict?" Kairi asked herself. "That can't be real."

Dark Riku replied anyway. "What was it you said? I only have to see it for it to become real? So, let's see it." He then turned his back on them and summoned a dark portal above the pile of cubes, which blinked red and blue as they all went into the portal above them. As they did so, "First, we need a vessel."

The cubes emerged from the portal, now red and in a ball, and they floated back down to the ground.

"What's going on?" GoGo asked.

"Another Darkube form?" Honey Lemon added.

"Doesn't look as bad as the last one," Fred commented.

"It could be a trick," Wasabi warned.

"Usually is," Lea agreed.

"Don't worry," Kairi tried to keep the peace. "We can stop it."

In a split second, her Destiny's Embrace appeared in her hand, while the cubes began to reform. During this, Hiro noticed a white arm sticking out. It was only for a split second.

But this split second was all he needed.

"Wait!" He called out in a panic. "That's...that's Baymax."

"What?!" Kairi looked back at the cube sphere. "No way."

But Hiro was right.

The Darkubes reformed to create dark violet and dark fuchsia armor around the first Baymax, a few cubes forming a gauntlet around his right arm – Kairi later learned that this was where he lost the original gauntlet of the armor the second Baymax now wore.

Evil Baymax now stood in front of Dark Riku, and the Big Hero 6 members gasped in surprised.

"Baymax..." Hiro muttered, his eyes starting to form with tears.

"Don't bother," Dark Riku warned. "This puppet has lost his heart. He won't wake up."

"He's not a puppet!" came Hiro's outburst, the thing that Kairi knew was coming for a while now. "Baymax is like _my family_! Please! Give me back my friend!"

Dark Riku held up the red chip, which was now laced with darkness, as he chuckled in an evil way that didn't sound like Riku at all. "Oh yes. I did promise we'd put this back where we found it." He then inserted the corrupted data chip into Evil Baymax's access port. Once inserted, Evil Baymax's eyes opened, completely red. "But there's one piece missing. Kairi, you're the one who's going to complete this heart."

Kairi removed her eyes from the second figure that was still on top of the blimp – and had not moved at all this whole time – back down to Dark Riku, and scoffed, "Yeah, right."

"You can't have a heart without sadness, without loss," Dark Riku replied. "You see, Princess, you're going to destroy Hiro's friend right in front of him."

"No."

"You keep saying that, Your Highness," Dark Riku told her. "Fine, I'll bite. Tell me why."

"Because I already know what I have to do."

"And what would that be?" Dark Riku decided to humor her.

Kairi, in turn, glanced back up at the second figure. "YOU! Get down here and show your face! _**NOW!**_"

The second figure scoffed back at her, clearly amused, "Why? I'm no one special."

"Because I need to know if I'm right or wrong!"

The second figure simply laughed before leaping down to the group's level and finally taking off his hood.

Sora's heart – within Kairi's – immediately skipped a beat, and Kairi didn't have to ask why.

_**It was Sora.**_ But he was no longer the Sora she knew. His hair had turned from that soft brunette to completely white, and his comforting baby blue eyes were now gold, his skin had tanned to a light brown, and his usual carefree smile had been twisted into an evil, out of character smirk – just like Xehanort himself.

Yen Sid was not kidding. Xehanort had indeed taken over Sora's body.

No wonder Sora himself – inside her heart – wasn't feeling well around this guy. It was his body, and his heart was automatically attracted to it.

_"Fight me!"_ Kairi demanded him.

Dark Sora simply laughed at her. "Why? Everyone here knows that I can destroy you in one strike."

_**"He's right, Kairi,"**_ Sora's heart agreed with his body. _**"This is Xehanort talking, which means he knows how to use my Keyblade, and he's not afraid of striking you down with it."**_

"You won't," Kairi, however, was unfazed. "You're bluffing. You need me alive, for that slow burn you guys are planning to break me with. Besides, you are my friend, Sora, my best friend, and I will _**never**_ give up on you!"

Hiro started when he heard those words leave Kairi's mouth. They struck him deep.

_"HIRO!" _He heard his team call out to him. He then glanced up in time to see Evil Baymax above him, ready to attack him. Frozen in fear, he couldn't move.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Evil Baymax was tackled by his teammates – Lea included – before the good Baymax punched him away and off the roof.

But Evil Baymax could fly - just like the original - and he flew back up to their level.

"Hiro, it's your call," Lea informed him. "What should we do?"

Hiro clenched his fists. "Baymax means everything to me. But that chip isn't who he is." He walked forward as the good Baymax struggled to keep his evil counterpart in place. "I already made this mistake once before. Tadashi wouldn't want there to be a Baymax that hurts people. I don't want to fight him, but Kairi's right. Baymax is my friend, and I refuse to give up on him. He has to be stopped, Lea."

"Hm, this should be good," Dark Riku commented, before disappearing into a Corridor.

"Alright then," Lea replied, summoning Nano Gear. "Leave this guy to me. You take care of your team."

Hiro sent Lea a grateful smile. "Thank you."

Lea smiled back at him, before turning to Kairi, who was still facing Evil Sora. "Don't you dare die on me. Okay, Princess?"

Kairi didn't remove her eyes from Evil Sora, but she smiled anyways, "I won't, Pyro. I promise."

Evil Baymax flew up and away and Lea approached him.

"Well, dang!" Lea exclaimed, wondering how we was going to fight an enemy that had the aerial advantage.

"Lea, take Baymax!" Hiro called out to him.

"Okay!" Lea called out. "Baymax!" He then started running.

"I am ready, Lea," Baymax replied, before flying to Lea. He stuck his arm out for Lea to grab. Lea grabbed it before climbing into Baymax's back, the duo now flying together.

Meanwhile, Kairi was still facing Evil Sora, no words being spoken between them.

_**"Sora,"**_ she called out, _**"I know you're not feeling well, but we have to fight him. It might be the only way to get your body back."**_

_**"Right..."**_

And in a flash of light, Kairi had morphed into Majestic Form.

Evil Sora simply smiled at her. "What a joke." But he summoned his Keyblade – Kingdom Key, but with an all-black color scheme – nonetheless. "I can feel my heart within you. We're calling each other to us. I wonder who will be the first to break?"

"Not us," Kairi growled, referring to her and Sora's heart.

"We'll see," was all Evil Sora said, before he attacked her first.

Kairi barely had time to react. Evil Sora was fast and his attacks were relentless.

She managed to dodge a Dark Firaga he fired at her, and when she turned back to face him, she had the Double Arrowguns in her hands, and she immediately fired them.

Evil Sora moved out of the way – which was impressive, considering she fired at him at point-blank range.

His attacks were relentless and ruthless, but she needed to do this. If she defeated Evil Sora right here and now, then she could easily turn him back to the light. That way, Sora's heart could safely return, and then Sora wouldn't be in anymore pain.

This was it. This might be her only chance, so she couldn't screw it up.

_**"Ragnarok!"**_ Kairi called out. While Evil Sora was dodging the fire streams of brilliant light that flew at him, Kairi took this chance.

Evil Sora was startled when Kairi suddenly grabbed his wrist – the one holding Kingdom Key, causing him to drop it. He yelped in pain when he felt a burning sensation occur where Kairi had grabbed him, and he wasn't imagining things.

Kairi's hand around his wrist was glowing with a bright light. It felt unusually warm – a calming warm – but Kairi's face – her glare, underneath her AR device – said the opposite. She was determined, and nothing could break that.

_**Kairi was using her Princess of Heart powers to force Xehanort out of Sora's body.**_

Surprisingly, Evil Sora didn't want to force her off of him. He wanted to let her – his heart within her was telling him to – but apparently Xehanort was completely against that.

The darkness rose within him and burst forth, which in turn burned Kairi's hand, forcing it away from Evil Sora's wrist.

_**"Not today, Princess,"**_ Xehanort told her, using Sora's voice. He wasn't himself, he knew that. _**"I worked too hard to secure this pawn. There's no way I'm losing him this quickly."**_

Kairi was exhausted beyond belief – using her powers like that was incredibly draining – so she could only watch as Evil Sora left in a Corridor.

Kairi was quiet for a while, ashamed that she had failed, that she had messed up her one and only chance.

Namine was the only one who dared to break the silence, obviously trying to comfort a very exhausted Sora. _**"He was being affected by your meeting, just as much as you were, Sora. When Kairi touched his wrist, I could see into his mind. It was all jumbled up. He was confused, but he **__wanted__** to let Kairi purify him. That's why Xehanort jumped in when he did."**_

_**"He was scared of losing Sora,"**_ Roxas said.

_**"But, he only thinks of Sora as a pawn,"**_ Xion reminded them. _**"You may have failed this time, Kairi, but you may have sparked something within him."**_

_**"She's right,"**_ Ven added. _**"You would have succeeded had Xehanort not jumped in. He now knows how much of a threat you are, Kairi. He wouldn't have interfered otherwise."**_

Kairi appreciated Xion and Ven finding the light within the darkness. _**"I'm sorry, Sora."**_

_**"Don't worry about it,"**_ Sora replied. _**"It wasn't a useless encounter. I knew you'd be willing to do anything to save me, Kairi, but now, there's no uncertainty. Thank you."**_

Sora was more determined than ever to get his body back. And thanks to Kairi's interference, there was a chance that he would win this time.

Meanwhile, on Baymax 2.0's back, Lea used Nano Gear's second Shotlock – _**Zone Connector**_ – before jumped off. He landed on top of Evil Baymax, striking him, before letting Baymax 2.0 grab him and he climbed back onto his back, both of them satisfied that Evil Baymax was falling out of the sky.

But Baymax 2.0's flight was halted by his evil counterpart hanging onto his leg.

Evil Baymax brought Baymax 2.0 down with him, but the former immediately did the same. Lea immediately yelped in sliht gear, as Evil Baymax gained the upper hand as both parties began to fall.

However, Baymax 2.0 aimed a rocket punch straight at Evil Baymax's face. Evil Baymax fell to the ground and Baymax 2.0 stabilized his thrusters as he caught his rocket fist when it came back to him. He lowered to the ground, allowing Lea to jump off and running towards the Evil Baymax, who was now in stasis.

Lea turned to the Big Hero 6 members as they ran down the stairs to his side and onto the scene, Hiro in front. "Guys...Hiro..."

After the group stopped in their tracks, Wasabi asked, uncertain, "So...did we stop him?"

Hiro slowly walked forward to Evil Baymax, still out cold. "Safety mode kicks in if he's put under too much stress, so he's probably just in stasis." He knelt next to his old friend. "We'll have to destroy the chip if we want to be sure."

"But...are you sure?" Honey asked him.

Fred added, "Yeah, dude...you don't need to go *that far*."

GoGo stepped in, "Maybe we can find another way."

Hiro simply shook his head, before taking out the combat chip. "It's the right thing to do." The Darkubes rose and disappeared, revealing a normal, white Baymax underneath, still out cold. Hiro gently placed a gloved hand on the first Baymax's chest. "Tadashi would've done the same thing."

"But Hiro," Kairi's voice cut through the moment – they didn't know she was there until she spoke just now. "Isn't that Baymax's heart?"

Hiro sent her a gentle smile and placed his hand over his chest. "It's okay, Kairi. Baymax is _here_, remember? I...I should be the one."

A loud crack sounded throughout the area as Hiro broke the combat chip under his foot.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

The group was back in Hiro's garage, out of their suits, and Kairi had taken off her AR device – which she was allowed to keep as a gift from Hiro, as his thank you for helping them.

They were standing in front of the first Baymax, with Pluto wagging his tail in excitement. Hiro had just finished building another healthcare chip. Now to test it out.

"Ow?" Hiro asked, uncertain to how successful this would be.

Baymax 1.0 opened his eyes. "Hello, I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion."

Cheers sounded all around. Hiro had managed to save his friend.

Hiro ran up to Baymax 1.0 and tightly hugged him around the middle. The first Baymax returned the hug as the seeecond Baymax joined in.

"Two Baymaxes!" Fred exclaimed, unable to believe where this had turned out.

As Hiro was repeatedly turning down Fred's request to keep one of the Baymaxes, Lea turned to Kairi and asked, "So, Evil Sora got away?"

"Yeah, but he'll be back," Kairi told him, as Pluto rubbed his head against her hand – a gesture of comfort. "Besides, there's still hope. Sora's heart is still resting within mine. As long as he's still there, he can still be saved."

Lea smiled at the amount of hope she still had.

"One! Just one of them!" Fred begged. "C'mon, Hiro, little man, pleeease?!"

"No," Hiro replied. "He's _my_ personal healthcare companion."

And Kairi and Sora both felt relief as they laughed at the exchange between Hiro and Fred.

Relieving liberation before they had to face Evil Sora – Sora's body – again.

_**To Be Continued…**_

_**!~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~3~~R~E~W~R~I~T~E~~!**_

A/N: Sorry that it's so long. While I am a big fan of Kingdom Hearts, I just recently got into the fandom. _**So if I get anything wrong, I'm sorry. Please, no flaming. Instead, just politely inform me in a PM or a review**_, so I can correct any mistake I make, and if you have any questions, PM me. If the answers don't contain any spoilers, I will answer them honestly and to the best of my ability.

**Sora's Drive Form with Kairi:** The weapons changing is a reference to the canon KH3's Formchanges. A reminder – Kairi adopts the fighting style of the person she's bonded with, and the Formchanges are Sora's in canon. Besides, it sounded cool, and Sora used them to inspire Big Hero 6 in canon, so I thought I'd stay true to that. Also, the stronger the connection between Kairi and the person bonded to her, the stronger the Drive Form is – hence why she's able to use Sora's Drive Form so many times in this chapter.

**About Soranort:** If you find Soranort to be scary and out of character as compared to the real Sora, good. That's how he's supposed to be. Soranort, as I imagine him, is supposed to be the side of Sora that no one expects from him, basically the complete opposite of Sora (due to Soranort, in this story, being another piece of Xehanort, who is technically Sora's foil).

**Also:** _**Shugyo**_ is a Japanese term, and Hiro is half-Japanese, so I assumed that he would know what the term meant.

No new Hearts in this chapter, but that will change in the next one. _**Next World: The Princess and the Frog/New Orleans**_.

Also, if anybody has any ideas or questions, or even suggestions about where to take the story next, please PM me.


	6. Chapter 5: Occhiolism

A/N: Here's the next chapter. Featuring: the world of **_The Princess and the Frog!_**

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Disney in any way, shape, or form! I only own an OC who will appear later in the story, next chapter._

**Note:** The cover of this story **_(see above)_** is what Kairi looks like in this story.

Make sure you bring some tissues this time. This entire chapter is rather sad, especially near the end.

**_!!!~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~3~~R~E~W~R~I~T~E~~!!!_**

**Let Me Face My Fears**

**Chapter 5:** _Occhiolism_

_"The awareness of the smallness of your perspective."_

**~New Orleans~**

"Voodoo?!" Tiana screeched at the one who dragged her into this, the one who turned her into a frog. "You mean to tell me this all happened because you were messing with the Shadow Man?!"

"He was very charismatic," Naveen shrugged.

Tiana groaned, "It serves me right for wishing on stars. The only way to get what you want in this world is through hard work."

"Hard work? Why woulda princess need to work hard?"

"Huh? Oh! I'm not a princess. I'm a waitress."

"A waitress? Well, no wonder the kiss did not work. You lied to me!"

"Hey, I never said I was a princess."

"You never said that you were a waitress! You...You were wearing a crown!"

"It was a costume party, you spoiled little rich boy!"

"Oh, yes? Well, the egg is on your face, alright? Because I do not have any riches! I am completely broke!"

"What?!"

To Tiana's horror, their adventure had only just begun.

!!!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!!!

**~Kairi's Heartscape~**

Sora meditating – or being quiet in general – was not a sight you saw every day.

"Sora?" Xion asked, slightly worried about him, since a quiet Sora was far from normal - it meant he was worried about something. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," the tone of Sora's voice suggested that he indeed was being bothered by something.

"No, you're not," Roxas immediately replied. "You can't lie to us. We know you too well."

Sora was quiet as he digested this. Roxas was right. The four other people with him were essentially an extension of himself – and Roxas was his Other – so he couldn't hide anything from him.

Ven knelt next to him and placed a gentle hand on the younger's shoulder. "Sora, we're worried about you."

Sora took in a deep breath to steady himself, before finally hunkering down, "I'm trying to find that Power of Waking Master Yen Sid said I lost – y'know _'the power to free a heart from its sleep'_." Sora wasn't done, and the others could sense that and said nothing – which he was grateful for. "If I can find it, then I can ensure that you guys will be safe, no matter what happens to me. Even if my heart is extracted from Kairi's, you guys will be safe as long as you stay with her. At least, until you find bodies to reside in."

Sora was done with his explanation, but the others were still quiet, and that did not sit well with him.

"Guys, please say something..."

"We appreciate the gesture," Xion began.

"But you don't have to worry about us," Namine finished.

Sora turned to Ven when he heard light chuckles in the latter's direction.

"What's so funny?" Sora asked the heart that's been with him the longest.

"Because you never lost it, Sora," Ven revealed. "It's sleeping within you, and it'll wake up when it's needed. So, don't worry about it. Okay?"

Ventus had been with Sora since the latter was four, so the two had developed a unique bond where they could tell what the other was thinking long before anyone else could figure it out.

So it made sense that Ven would be able to sense that Sora still had the Power of Waking. And Sora had no problems trusting Ven.

Besides, it felt relieving to know that he didn't have to get this Power of Waking all over again, from scratch. He still had it, but it was just sleeping.

"Okay..." Sora softly replied. "Thanks, Ven."

"You're welcome," Ven responded in the same vocal tone.

Something else was still on Sora's mind, but no one had to ask what it was. They already knew.

**_There was no way to tell whether or not Kairi would be affected if – or when – Sora's heart was extracted from hers._**

They all sincerely hoped not. Kairi's heart was already broken enough.

!!!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!!!

**~Lanes Between~**

Lea and Kairi were resting in their Gummi Ship, talking with Yen Sid on Kairi's Gummiphone.

**_"I am deeply disturbed by what is happening,"_** Yen Sid told them. **_"Sora's body, that was taken over by Xehanort, actually showed his face to you."_**

"I know what you're going to tell me, Master," Kairi replied. "I know that it was reckless of me to start a fight with him."

**_"Reckless is an understatement, even if Xehanort doesn't intend to kill you yet,"_** Yen Sid said. **_"But I understand why you did so. Fighting Sora may be the only way to restore him."_**

"That's what we thought, too," Lea cut in. "More specifically, one of us Guardians fights him long enough to give Kairi an opening so she can use her powers to force Xehanort out of Sora's body."

**_"That plan could work,"_** Yen Sid replied, **_"but is there any way to tell if Sora's body will come back to you specifically?"_**

"Sora's heart is attracted to his body, and vice versa," Kairi pointed out. "They are two pieces of the same person, and Sora's heart currently resides within mine. So yes, he will come to us. It's also a matter of who breaks first, and something tells me it's not going to be Sora's heart."

Kairi felt Sora's comfort at her faith in him, yet worry at how far she was willing to go for him.

**_"Explain, please."_**

So she did, "During my fight with him, I got a chance to use my powers to turn him back to normal, and I took it. But he made no move to stop me. It was like he wanted to be free of Xehanort's control, but that's when Xehanort took control of him again."

**_"Alright, then,"_** Yen Sid responded. **_"I will allow you to fight Sora's body if and when he reappears to you. Your story has told me that Xehanort now knows how much of a threat you can be, and he is afraid of losing Sora when he just gained him as a pawn."_**

That exactly what Ven, Roxas, Namine, and Xion told her.

"Thank you, Master," Lea and Kairi said simultaneously.

"It won't be easy, though," Kairi added. "His reflexes are superhuman and his attacks are ruthless and relentless."

"We're not looking to kill him," Lea reminded her. "We just need to keep him occupied long enough to let you turn him back to the light."

"Right..." Kairi's response was soft.

**_"Be careful,"_** Yen Sid warned them. **_"There's no telling what Xehanort has in store for you, now that he knows what he knows."_**

After Yen Sid hung up, Lea turned to her and added, "He's right. The bond between you and Sora is a lot stronger than Xehahort thought it was." Kairi shrugged, not knowing what to say in response to this. "Anyways, onto the next world. We still have three New Hearts to find and secure."

"Right," Kairi replied, summoning Destiny's Embrace and opening the next portal – where her heart was telling her to go.

!!!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!!!

**~New Orleans~**

"You feel that?" Facilier's partner asked him. His partner was male and wore a long, black trench coat and an eyepatch, and there was a scar on his face, and apparently his name was Xigbar. "You should. You're well inversed with the darkness."

Facilier focused for a brief moment. "Yeah. I feel it. There's a second pure light that just passed through this world's gate. What is it doing here?"

"Securing the first light," Xigbar answered, as if it was obvious. "Why else?"

"Am I not allowed to harm this light either?" Facilier asked, already knowing the answer. He wasn't allowed to harm the first one. Xigbar was clear on that.

"Of course not," Xigbar replied. "But you are allowed to touch her."

"Explain..." Facilier was confused by his words.

"This second light is named Kairi, and she is very special," Xigbar explained, "to both the Guardians and to the Organization. She's special to the Guardians of Light because she is the light itself. However, she is also special to the Organization for two reasons. One of those reasons is classified, but the second is that she's carrying someone else's heart within her own, a heart that belongs to the Organization. We need it. And you and your Friends are going to help us remove that heart."

"Taking her will be a piece of cake," Facilier finally responded. "But removing someone's heart from a body is a difficult process, even in voodoo."

"Not with the darkness, it's not," came Xigbar's answer. "Your Friends are apart of the darkness. You could even say they are darkness itself, so removing that heart should be easy for them, even though Kairi will fight back."

"We will succeed," Facilier vowed.

"I certainly hope so," Xigbar said, now sounding as if he was warning Facilier of danger, "because if you fail, your Friends will no longer be your Friends. They obey the strongest darkness, after all."

Facilier could only watch as Xigbar disappeared through a Corridor.

!!!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!!!

As soon as the Gummi Ship landed, Kairi fell to her knees, obviously overwhelmed by all the darkness that was surrounding them.

After summoning Flame Liberator, keeping an eye on any surrounding Heartless – despite the fact that there were none so far, Lea couldn't help but worry.

All the previous worlds had Heartless in them, and Kairi didn't break a sweat against them, not for a moment. So, for Kairi to collapse in this world just by the presence of darkness, it must've meant that the darkness here was strong, or someone was deliberately releasing the darkness here, or both.

It was never a good sign if Kairi could feel bad things around them – much less got sick from them.

"Lea..." Kairi, still on her knees, barely managed to get out. "I feel a light in the distance."

And yet, in the midst of all the chaos, you could always count on Kairi to find the light within the darkness, no matter how obscure it was.

"You want to go find it?" Lea asked her. "There are no Heartless around. I can't see them."

"Because there are no Heartless," Kairi replied, as she took Lea's hand that he offered her. "Heartless have no emotions, but they still have a presence, but all I feel is pure Darkness."

Kairi was back to standing, thanks to Lea, but her knees were weak and she looked ready to collapse again at any moment. "Then, let's go find this light."

"And find and stop whoever's behind all this darkness being here."

"Are you sure you can handle that?" Lea asked her. He couldn't believe that she was still so adamant on stopping the darkness. "You nearly passed out just now, and you look like you still might."

**_"Listen to Axel, Kairi,"_** came Sora's voice, his stressed vocal tone being concerningly out-of-character for him. **_"Please. Stay away from the front lines this time."_**

He knew something was going to happen. Something bad and possibly traumatizing.

"I know you're worried, Lea," Kairi replied. "Sora is too. But defending the worlds against the Darkness is my job. I am a Princess of Heart, after all, and a Keyblade Wielder to boot."

"Your heart is strained enough already," Lea shot back. "We can't risk it getting strained anymore."

"Thank you for your concern," Kairi's response was gentle if not irritated, "but sometimes, there are things that you have to do. For me, stopping the darkness is one of them. I'm sorry, Lea."

**_'I'm sorry, Sora,'_** she added. She didn't want to tell him the awful truth, that not everyone can be saved, so she didn't.

_Because Sora would not accept it. It would only make his situation worse._

**_"Don't apologize,"_** Sora replied. **"You're right."**

Lea's response was the same as Sora's, "You're right, Kairi. You're absolutely right. And as a fellow Keyblade Wielder, I should understand." After a moment of silence, he asked, "So, where do you feel that other light?"

"Over there." Kairi pointed at a tree in the distance. It was small, but it was noticeable, because a boat had crashed into it. "There's also a pure light moving towards it."

"A New Heart?" Lea asked, intrigued. Kairi simply nodded.

Lea took this time to take in their surroundings. Kairi had told him about the signs her dreams had given her – the signs about where to find the remaining New Hearts – and one of the three she said to look out for was a frog, which she assumed meant that particular Princess was in a swamp of some kind.

And this was clearly a swamp – and Kairi had just sensed a heart as pure as her own in this world.

_So, she was right._

And over the course of the duo's adventure together – from training up to now – Lea had learned to trust Kairi's hunches.

!!!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!!!

Lea and Kairi arrived at the boat in the three, and were surprised to see that a dark-skinned old lady wearing shades was waiting for them.

"Welcome, you weary travelers! Come on in! We been waiting for you!" the old lady said, as she grabbed Kairi's hand and pulled her into the boat-house. Lea soon followed, a snake closing the door behind him, as he took in the warm, home-like atmosphere. It was very comforting, and he felt right at home here. "Dinner will be ready in a minute."

Not to mention, Kairi was looking less green around the gills now – which was a huge relief.

But they weren't the only ones here. There was an alligator, a firefly, and two green frogs were standing in the corner.

"Now, answer my question," she spoke up, "which one of you naughty kiddies been messin' with the Shadow Man?"

_'Shadow Man'_? Lea and Kairi didn't know what this meant.

"Mama Odie?" The smaller of the two frogs said – her voice sounded like a female's. She was the New Heart in this world, Kairi realized. "Ray and Louis here have been telling us all about you. We've been traveling quite a long way, and you can't imagine what we've been through. And we heard that you..."

The old lady – Mama Odie – laughed and cut her off, "Juju! Come on over here, you bad boy!" She grabbed her snake – named Juju apparently – and kissed him full on the mouth, "Give us a little sugar, now." The alligator gagged. "Y'all just loves your mama, don't you?" She then turned her snake into a walking stick. "Good to see you again, Ray!" She addressed the firefly. "How's your grandmama?"

"She's fine," Ray replied, and apparently Lea could hear him, because Kairi saw his face contort in disbelief that an animal was actually talking to him. "Got in a little trouble for flashing the neighbors again."

"Oh, I like that gal's spunk!" Mama Odie laughed again, as she sat down in her armchair.

"Mama Odie," the female frog spoke up again. "We don't want to take up too much of your time..."

Mama Odie pulled out something from her robe and offering it to the two frogs – it was candy that didn't look very appetizing. "Y'all want some candy?"

"Not really," the male frog replied.

"No, thank you," the female frog turned it down.

"Now that's too bad," Mama Odie replied. "It's a special candy. Would have turned y'all human."

The two frogs became frantic when she popped the candy in her mouth. "Wait! Don't! Please don't take it!"

Mama Odie laughed once again. "I'm just messin' with y'all."

"How on Earth did you know that we wanted to turned back...?" the female frog asked, but trailed off when Mama Odie began snoring.

_Was she asleep?_

"Mama Odie?" the male frog asked.

"Juju!" Mama Odie suddenly woke up. "Why didn't you tell me my gumbo was burnin'?" She raced out of the chair and immediately to her large cooking pot.

The alligator leaned closer to Ray and asked, "You sure this is the right blind voodoo lady who lives in a boat in a tree in the bayou?"

"Pretty sure," Ray replied, shrugging.

"Can't believe this," Mama Odie muttered. "Got to do everything around here."

The two frogs followed her, and Lea and Kairi soon joined her, all at the pot she was stirring.

"Mama Odie, if you–"

The female frog was cut off by Mama Odie shoving the spoon full of gumbo into her mouth. "Taste this!" She asked after a moment, "Well?"

"Hit it hard with a couple of shots of Tabasco and it's the bee's knees," the female frog replied, sounding as if she knew what she was talking about. "Now, can we...?"

She was cut off again by Mama Odie yelling out for her snake, "Juju!"

She was turned one way, and Juju was right behind her, a bottle of Tabasco in his mouth – whatever that was – which he let a couple squeezes of drop right into the pot below.

Mama Odie quickly did a taste test of her own. "Yehehe! That's got some zang to it! That's just what it needed." She then brought out some bowls, filled each of them with her gumbo and handed them out to everyone, including her snake, and then filled one for herself. As she handed Kairi her bowl, the old lady said, "Make sure you eat up. You look pale, dearie."

"You too?" the female frog asked.

"What do you mean _'you too'_?" Lea asked.

"Earlier, Tiana here was feeling _'green 'round the gills'_, no?" The male frog replied.

"I was, but..." the female frog – named Tiana – replied, "I thought I was the only one."

"There's a reason both of you ladies are sensitive to the darkness," Mama Odie cut in. "You two are one in the same."

"We're both Princesses of Heart," Kairi muttered.

"Then the kiss should have worked after all!" the male frog exclaimed all of a sudden. "You are a Princess!"

"A _'Princess of Heart'_ is not an actual Princess," Lea explained. "Such a title refers to any of the seven maidens whose heart is unable to hold darkness. Like Kairi and..." Lea trailed off, forgetting her name.

"Tiana," the said frog replied. "My name is Tiana. So that's what I am. Someone with a pure heart, devoid of darkness."

"Prince Naveen, at your service," the male frog added. "The alligator over there is Louis – plays a killer trumpet – and the firefly is Ray."

"Nice to meet y'all!" Ray exclaimed, flying up to Kairi and Lea, holding out his small hand for them to shake – which they both accepted.

"And you are?" Tiana asked them.

"Kairi," the girl replied. "And this is Lea."

"You two are here to fight the shadows," Mama Odie cut in once again – but once again, she was right. The two Guardians nodded. "Be careful. The shadows are downright mean. They won't be merciful."

"We know."

"Good, y'all need to be careful," Mama Odie then turned to Naveen and Tiana. "Now, y'all figure out what _you_ need?"

"It's just like said, Mama Odie," Tiana replied. "We need to be human."

Mama Odie just scoffed at them, "Y'all ain't got the sense you was born with! Y'all want to be human, but you're blind to what you need!"

"What we want? What we need? Is all the same thing, yes?" Naveen asked.

"_'Is the same thing'_? No!" Mama Odie exclaimed. "You listen to your mama now. Prince Froggy, you a rich little boy, aren't you? You want to be rich again, but that ain't gonna make you happy now. Did it make you happy then? No! Money ain't got no soul, no heart! All you need is some self-control. Make yourself a brand-new start. Maybe love will grant you peace of mind." Naveen nodded. Mama Odie then turned to Lea and Kairi. "Y'all want to save friends, but remember your first priority."

"Saving the worlds..." Kairi muttered.

"That's right!" Mama Odie replied. "Save the worlds and protect them from the shadows! But don't try to save them by yourself!" She then turned to Tiana, "Now, I heard that you's a hard one. Your daddy was a loving man. Family, through and through. You your daddy's daughter, what he had in him, you got in you. It's gonna be though for you. You got to dig a little deeper, because you ain't dug deep near far enough. You understand now, child?"

"Yes, I do, Mama Odie," Tiana replied. "I need to dig a little deeper and work ever harder to get my restaurant!"

Kairi sighed. Tiana still didn't understand.

"Well, if y'all are set on being human, there's only one way. We need a princess, like your friend," Mama Odie replied.

"Lottie?" Tiana asked. "But she's not a princess."

"Yes, she is. Her daddy is King of the Mardi Gras parade. That makes her a princess."

"Does that count?" Naveen asked.

"Yes, it does," Mada Odie replied. "But only 'till midnight when Mardi Gras is over. So hop along! You only got 'till then to get that princess to kiss you. Once she does, boom! You both turn human!"

"Midnight?" Naveen asked.

"That doesn't give us much time at all," Tiana replied.

"What about me, Mama?" Louis asked. "I want to be human, too, so I can play jazz with the big boys. I want fingers and toes and a bellybutton. Not the kind that sticks out but the kind that goes in."

Mama Odie chuckled, "Jabber Jaws, you dig a little deeper, you'll find everything you need. Come on, come on, come on. There's a lot of river between here and New Orleans. Y'all best get to swimming now. Flamehead, Princess, you two better go with them. The shadows will try and slow them down."

"Right!"

And with that, the unlikely group was in their way back to New Orleans.

!!!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!!!

They were on a boat now – Lea and Kairi wearing coats to blend in – heading back to New Orleans, whatever that place was. Lea and Kairi both proposed that they all stick together – even though no Heartless, or Shadows as Mama Odie called them, had shown up yet – and the other four quickly, mutually agreed that it would indeed be safer to stick together.

Especially Tiana and Kairi – both of them were getting progressively weaker the farther away they got from Mama Odie.

However, as fate would have it, the group was all forced apart by something.

"Man, that is one killer-diller costume!" exclaimed a man to Louis – the alligator of their group.

"Hey, gator, can you blow that horn?" another man asked, motioning to Louis' trumpet he carried around.

"Come on, sit in with us! We're playing Mardi Gras!" Louis wouldn't refuse this offer, so he went along with them.

"We can't miss this!" Ray said. "Little Louis going to finally play with the big boys!" Ray began to fly off after Louis, and Tiana made a move to follow.

But she noticed Naveen was lingering behind, "Naveen, you coming?"

"Oh, I'll catch up later," Naveen said. With this, Tiana followed Ray, and Lea and Kairi followed her.

After a while, Naveen still hadn't shown up to watch Louis play with the _'big boys'_, so Kairi went to look for him and Ray joined her.

While the two were talking, they stumbled across a ledge that Naveen was on, carrying a shell on his arms. He was talking to a star in the sky – a star that shone unusually bright, Kairi noticed.

However, Ray didn't notice because he was busy talking Kairi's ear off.

"Oh, Evangeline," Naveen was saying. "Why can't I just look Tiana in the eye and say, _'I will do whatever it takes to make all your dreams come true because...because I love you'_?" Naveen opened the shell, pointing it to the star, revealing a makeshift ring.

Ray seemed to notice that Kairi was barely listening to him and so he look where she was looking. Unfortunately, he only heard and saw the tail end of that sentence, and he was livid.

His light turned red and he zoomed over to Naveen and started biting his hand, "Whoa, whoah, whoa, Cap! You making goo-goo eyes at my girl? That's it! Put them up! I'm going to make some shoes out of you!"

"Ray!" Kairi was immediately concerned.

"No, Ray!" Naveen protested. "I am not in love with Evangeline. I am in love with Tiana!"

Ray stopped mid-bite and his demeanor completely changed, "Ooh! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!"

"You're in love with Tiana?" Kairi asked him, ready to give him some advice if he needed it.

"Yes. This means I can no longer marry Miss Charlotte La Bouff," Naveen said.

"You're going to be happy together!" Ray babbled on.

"But she wants to be human again," Kairi calmly pointed out. "So she can get her restaurant."

"Then I'll find another way to get Tiana a restaurant," Naveen was determined, but Kairi needed to make sure.

"You're going to have the cutest little tadpoles!" Ray continued.

"How?" Kairi continued to press. She wanted to make sure his love for Tiana was genuine. After all, as a fellow Princess of Heart, Tiana deserved the best.

"I will get a job," Naveen replied. "Maybe two. Maybe three."

"But you can't work if you don't become human," in Naveen's mind, Kairi made a solid point.

"I can't wait to tell her!" Ray exclaimed.

Naveen panicked, "No, no, no. I must tell her. Alone."

"Right. You rascal!" Ray chuckled.

"Good luck," Kairi called out to him, and he turned back, sending a gentle, grateful smile her way, before hopping off.

Naveen was determined to get Tiana her restaurant, just like how Sora was determined to do whatever it took to come back to Kairi.

The makeshift ring, the Lucky Charm – _they were the same thing_. They both represented a **_promise_**.

"They gonna make a fine couple," Ray said to Kairi.

"Yeah, they sure are," Kairi replied, before going back to something Ray had mentioned earlier. "By the way, Ray, who's Evangeline?"

"Only the sweetest firefly in all of creation," Ray's facial expression turned from class clown to the classic _'in love'_ look. He glanced up at the sky, and Kairi followed his eye line.

_The bright star. **That** was Evangeline?_

"Look how she lights up the sky," Ray continued. "She's so far above me, yet I know her heart belongs to only me."

_A star, just like the star-shaped paopu fruit..._

**_The fruit that tied to people's destinies together..._**

Kairi smiled. "That's so sweet, Ray."

"Isn't it?" Ray blushed. "You have someone like that too, don't cha?"

It was Kairi's turn to blush as she immediately thought of Sora. "Yeah..."

"Someone who's right there, yet so far away."

"Yeah..."

"But you know you'll see them again one day," Ray finished.

"Yeah."

It wasn't the Lucky Charm that kept Sora and Kairi together. It was their hearts. They were and always would be tied together, no matter what happened to them. Even if Sora completely fell to darkness, even if Kairi's heart truly did shatter, they would always be connected. The Lucky Charm was only a small projection of that connection.

Kairi held a hand over her heart – it was at peace, a rarity these days – and held out her hand.

Ray watched as a green light formed and soon a fancy weapon was in her hand that she held out.

Kairi took in the new Keyblade. Its handle and blade were green leaves. The teeth were off a pink lily with a firefly flying around inside it, and the keychain was Naveen's makeshift ring – or at least a copy of it. She could feel its emphasis on Speed just from holding it.

"_Evangeline_," Kairi muttered.

"What?" Ray asked.

"The name of this Keyblade," Kairi replied. "It's name is _Evangeline_."

"It's beautiful," Ray commented.

"It is..."

_Because love itself was beautiful._

!!!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!!!

The captain of the boat just announced that they had just docked in New Orleans. Tiana had just gone to round up the others, while Naveen stayed behind, his makeshift still in his case.

He sighed, and glanced up, "Evangeline, I don't understand what went wrong. What do I do? Please tell me."

"I'm guessing it didn't go so well?" came Kairi's voice.

Naveen looked down from the ledge he was on. Sure enough it was Kairi, with no Ray, no Louis, no Lea, no Tiana, no one in sight but her. She was glancing up at him, concerned smile on her face, ready to comfort him.

Naveen grabbed the ring case and leaped down next to her. "No. I want her to be happy, but I also want to be with her. She only seems to care about her restaurant and becoming human again."

"Well, her restaurant is very important to her," Kairi reminded him. "It was her father's dream, one that never got off the ground. So, Tiana doesn't want the restaurant for herself. She wants it for him."

"I know that," Naveen replied. "But she doesn't return my feelings for her."

"She does," Kairi revealed. "Being a Princess of Heart means you can sense the emotions of others. It works best on people who have more light in their hearts than they do darkness, so I can read her emotions perfectly. She does return your feelings, Naveen. She just doesn't know it yet."

"So, I just have to wait?" Naveen asked.

Kairi nodded, "Mm-hmm. At least, until she gets her restaurant. I suspect that's when she'll figure it out."

"Right," Naveen replied, feeling more optimistic thanks to Kairi's advice. "Be patient. Until then, I will stay right by her side."

Just then, Kairi's heart skipped a beat – a familiar feeling to her, as it signified the presence of darkness closing in.

Kairi made a move to turn around and summon her Keyblade to fight off whatever Heartless had just appeared.

But all she saw from that point on was black.

!!!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!!!

**~Kairi's Heartscape~**

Kairi's eyes opened to a familiar sight, and five familiar faces gathered around her, all carrying some degree of concern.

"What hit me?" Kairi asked.

"Not a Heartless," Namine replied. "It was pure darkness."

"Of course," Kairi muttered. "It was the Shadows Mama Odie warned us about." She took a deep breath, hoping to calm herself, before asking, "Where am I?"

"No idea," Roxas answered. "We can only see through your eyes."

"And you're currently out cold," Xion added. "So we can't see anything, really."

"I'm sorry," Kairi mumbled out an apology.

"Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault," Ventus replied, before kneeling next to her. "You need to be careful. Too much darkness is forcing the crack in your heart to widen."

Kairi looked at where he was referring to. And sure enough, there was a crack, large and dark enough to make her wince.

"Trust us, we don't like it either," Namine continued, "which is why we're practically begging you not to make it worse."

"I promise I won't," Kairi vowed before feeling herself fading. "I'm waking up now." She continued her deep breaths, as she looked over at Sora – who was uncharacteristically quiet.

Sora was almost knocked to his feet when he felt Kairi tightly embrace out of the blue. "Kairi..."

"I'm getting this weird feeling that this is the last time I'll ever see you," Kairi muttered, tears coming to her eyes. Immediately, Sora returned her hug, just as tight as she was embracing him.

"You're not going to lose me, Kairi," Sora promised, as he felt his arms get lighter and emptier.

_Kairi had woken up._

He reached into his pocket and took out Kairi's Lucky Charm, tightly clutching, not sure what to think about Kairi's premonition.

But he was certain that he would beat his own darkness – eventually, if not today.

!!!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!!!

**~New Orleans~**

"Kairi, Kairi! Wake up!" The said girl woke up to Naveen's frantic voice. Kairi's eyes opened to see Naveen trapped in a jar. They two were in a darkened room, where the only light was a lit fireplace. Pictures were hung on the wall, but Kairi was too far away to see them, and the entire room appeared to be painted a white color.

"Naveen? What's going on?" she asked him, feeling rather disoriented – and not because she just woke up.

The shadows were in the room with them.

"We've been separated from the others," Naveen explained. "You were out immediately, but I saw Lea and the others fighting off dark monsters and a man in a black coat. But we were taken away before they could reach us. However, I don't think they saw us. The shadows moved rather quickly and out of sight."

"We have to get out here," was all Kairi told him.

"I know, but our options are limited," Naveen replied. "The shadows are in this room, guarding us and making sure we don't escape."

Just then, the door swung open and in stepped two men – one dark-skinned and thin, the other light-skinned and rather chubby.

The thin man spoke up as soon as he saw Naveen and Kairi, "Ah! Your Highnesses! How wonderful to see you! My Friends, we are back in business!"

Did he just call the shadows his _'friends'_?

He must have, Kairi thought, as this man – the Shadow Man, as Mama Odie called him – was filled with darkness, like he had been twisted by it.

"They'll betray you," Kairi quietly ground out. The Shadow Man turned to her, a frown on his face. "The Shadows. If you think for one second that they won't leave you for dead, you're delusional."

Before the Shadow Man could spit a few angry insults at her, a familiar voice spoke up, "That's what _I_ keep telling him, Your Highness."

Kairi turned in the direction of the voice.

Xigbar...he was sitting on a chair in the corner by the window, just chilling out. His appearance wasn't known until now, and Kairi wasn't sure if he was there the entire time, or he had just arrived using a Corridor.

"You kidnapped me...for Sora's heart," Kairi realized.

Xigbar stood up from his seat. "Correct. Well, you're half-right."

The Shadow Man clapped, getting everyone's attention. "Ahem, this is _my_ show! My apologies, Princess. I am Doctor Facilier, and these are my Friends. Larry!" He suddenly addressed the chubby man, throwing him a necklace that was around his neck. "Take the frog. Hurry up! Or you'll miss the vows."

Kairi couldn't move an inch. There too much darkness around. So much it was paralyzing her.

But apparently, that wasn't enough to deter Facilier or the Shadows.

The Shadows quickly grabbed her by her arms and legs and quickly pinned her against the wall – her legs together but her arms spread out to the side.

Kairi began to panic, and soon it became rather difficult to breathe. She knew what was coming. They were here for Sora, and they would get Sora from her no matter what.

And this was the perfect time to get him, since Kairi would not move, much less fight.

More Shadows were closing in, as Kairi struggled to breathe. One of them touched her chest, and Kairi immediately cried out in pain.

_It was as if the Shadow was ripping her heart out._

!!!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!!!

**~Kairi's Heartscape~**

Sora felt his heart give a painful jump and he dropped to his knees. The world around him began to shake – it was painful for her, but Kairi was fighting back, trying to keep Sora in place.

Roxas was also feeling this tug. After all, he and Sora were the same person. But he didn't feel it for long.

When the tug let him go, Roxas turned to Sora. Xion and Ventus were experiencing the same thing as Roxas was – feeling the tug, but being quickly set free.

_Set free by Sora._

"Sora?" Xion dared to ask.

"I just used the Power of Waking," Sora replied. Ven was right – it did wake up when Sora needed it to – and now Roxas, Xion, and Ventus were now truly their own people. Their tie to Sora was still there, but not as strong as before. "You guys are free now." He then lifted his head up to the sky, "Kairi, you have to let me go."

**_"NO!"_**

"You have to let me go," he repeated, slower this time.

**_"I can't,"_** Kairi replied. She was crying. **_"If I do, you'll be permanently lost to the darkness."_**

"I'll be fine," Sora didn't raise his voice. Instead, he was completely calm, as if he had already accepted his fate. "Being with you made me realize my inner strength again. I have the Power of Waking again. Roxas, Xion, and Ven are their own people now. They just need bodies for their hearts to reside in. It's up to you to do that, Kairi."

**_"Sora, don't make me let go...please..."_**

"More cracks are appearing in your heart because of this, Kairi," Sora pointed out. The other four glanced around to discover that Sora was right. Kairi holding onto Sora during this procedure was causing her heart to break even more. "Facilier and Xigbar want this, Kairi. They want you to break, because then they win. You can't let them win. You're a Princess of Heart and a Guardian of Light, Kairi. You need to stop them from winning. And to do that, you need to let me go."

Kairi didn't respond, but they all knew she heard him. She was crying even harder now.

Kairi sniffed, **_"Okay..."_**

Immediately, the world around them – Kairi's heart – stopped shaking, and Sora was fading.

"You'll see me again, Kairi. I promise," Sora gave them his last words. "And Roxas..." Roxas didn't realize he was crying until now, when the initial shock passed and he could feel the tears streaming down his face. "It's up to you to protect Kairi now."

"WAIT, SORA!" Roxas cried out, running to his Other, but Sora was already gone.

!!!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!!!

**~New Orleans~**

The Shadows had released her, and Kairi was back to lying on the ground, paralyzed and crying her heart out, but not just because of the darkness this time. The trauma she just went through – both physically and emotionally – really took its toll on her.

"Thank you, my friend," Xigbar said to Facilier. "Now you may go about your business." Facilier practically leaped for joy and left, his Friends quickly following. Xigbar then turned to Kairi, his condescending voice telling her, "And thank you, Princess, for your cooperation. We really couldn't have done it without you."

As he summoned a Sniper Nobody, he heard Kairi say something along the lines of, "Give Sora back..."

Still holding Sora's heart in his hands, he turned back to face her, and to his surprise, she was standing up now, as if she intended to fight him.

"I'm sorry," Xigbar smiled. "Could you repeat that?"

But Kairi wasn't the one who responded, **_"You heard her. Give Sora back right now!"_**

The sudden shift in her voice made Xigbar panic, because he knew exactly who was talking to him now.

Kairi's clothes then shifted from pink to black – with a crown pattern – and white – with a star pattern – and she was now holding Oblivion and Oathkeeper.

"Don't make me laugh, Princess," Xigbar replied, as he quickly handed Sora's heart to the Sniper, which quickly disappeared in a Corridor. "You know you'll never beat me."

**"Sorry, but the Princess isn't home right now, but I am,"** and that was all the evidence Xigbar needed to confirm his theory.

Xigbar smirked as he crew his two weapons. "Good to see you again, Roxas."

**_"I wish I could say the same,"_** 'Roxas' replied, pointing Oblivion straight at Xigbar. **_"And don't think I didn't see that Sniper, because I did. You are going to pay for this, big time!"_**

Kairi had slipped back into her Heartscape, exhausted and heartbroken, so Roxas volunteered to be the one to step up and take control of Kairi's body for a while – which meant he had easy access to **_Judgement Form_**, his Drive Form with Kairi.

Judgement Form gave Roxas' powers to Kairi, so technically, Roxas was now twice as strong, since he wasn't the only one fighting. Kairi was too, in a way – Judgement Form gave an all-round stats boost and it was easier to control when both he and Kairi were equally mad about the same thing.

Xion and Namine were comforting Kairi, as Ven stood by, ready to take over and activate **_Blitz Form_** if Roxas ever got too tired to continue.

But Roxas knew that nothing was going to happen to him. As long as he was the one who fought Xigbar, then Kairi and the others would be safe.

Xigbar watched 'Roxas' assumed his usual offensive stance by twirling and drawing back both Keyblades, and then performed a dual-outward slash, unleashing a whirlwind of light and darkness within the immediate area. This was Whirlwind Swing – Roxas' signature move when starting a fight.

'Roxas' wildly swung both Keyblades in left-and right sweeping combos – the start of his Continue Swing attack – which definitely did not hurt Xigbar very much, thank you. But the man narrowly managed to dodge 'Roxas'' dash and dual-outward strike. He managed to avoid any lasting damage, but the following shockwaves definitely hurt him.

All Xigbar had was his bullets, and 'Roxas' was way too fast to hit.

Kairi's fighting style consisted of heavy swings, powerful strikes, and great magic attacks. Xion's style was very similar to Sora's, with mild magic attacks, great speed, and swift, tactical strikes. Apparently, Namine had a Keyblade now too, but all the information the Organization had on this was the fact that Namine's Chain of Memories Keyblade was magic-based and greatly enhanced her already powerful memory abilities. Ventus focused on speed, which was superb, and his strikes were quick and precise.

Roxas, on the other hand, was merciless. He didn't exactly focus on magic, but he was still pretty good at it, and his speed and strength were outstanding, making him a very difficult – and very dangerous – opponent. The only way to hit Roxas was to attack someone he wanted to protect – since he would step in to take the hit for him – and if you wanted him to surrender, be prepared to kill him or wipe his memory in some way.

Roxas was relentless, compared to the others mentioned, and Xigbar wasn't sure if he would be able to win against Roxas, much less survive the fight. Roxas was always angry at the Organization for what they did to him. When he was determined, he remained unswayed.

Xigbar narrowly avoided 'Roxas'' Aerial Spin Swing after Xigbar knocked him in the air with one of his bullets – Roxas' standard go-to defense-and-retaliation tactic whenever he was knocked into the air.

Xigbar show a few more bullets at 'Roxas', who spun his two Keyblades – joined at their hilts – to act like a shield to counteract the bullets, a couple of which ricocheted back to Xigbar.

While Xigbar quickly got back on his feet, trying to recover in time, 'Roxas' had summoned his Spot Beam – thirteen light shields used in conjunction with his Keyblades.

Neither Roxas nor Kairi had said anything throughout this fight, which is how Xigbar now knew he was done for, **_"Say your prayers, Xigbar."_** 'Roxas' had not attacked with his Spot Beam, which meant he was ready to deliver the final blow.

'Roxas' then jumped up off the ground and used the thirteen shields of light to rain down on his opponent – Roxas' signature Command Finish, called **_"Magic Hour"_**.

Black smoke began to leak from Xigbar's body as he dropped to his knees, his two weapons disappearing.

"Damn you, Roxas," Xigbar muttered. "You're too good."

**_"We will get Sora back,"_** 'Roxas' replied. **_"The Organization will lose. Mark my words."_**

"Oh, I'm counting on it, actually," Xigbar revealed, giving those watching him a big shock. "That way I can finally get my Keyblade back."

_His_ Keyblade?

Xigbar then disappeared in a Corridor. Confident that he wouldn't try to attack this world again, 'Roxas' reverted back to Kairi's original pink uniform and let her take over.

"Thank you, Roxas," Kairi quietly said. "I don't think I would've won that fight."

**_"You were in no condition to fight, Kairi,"_** Roxas replied. But now that all the darkness was gone, Kairi was quickly recovering and she was back in fighting shape. **_"You're welcome."_**

Namine placed a gentle, hopefully comforting hand on Roxas' shoulder. Roxas immediately placed his hand over hers, accepting her comfort – Namine knew his pain, being able to easily place herself in his shoes.

If their roles were reversed, and Kairi had been forcefully taken away, Namine would've held no qualms about taking over Sora's body and fighting in his place, because **_how dare they take Kairi away from her, how dare they, give her back, give her back right now, and they'll pay for every single bit of pain she now has to go through by no longer feeling complete, because without her Somebody, nothing is real anymore!!_**

But Kairi was still here. It was _Sora_ that was ripped away from them.

But Namine still understood where Roxas was coming from, how he was feeling.

"Tiana's in danger," Kairi revealed. "The Shadows are closing in on her. We have to hurry!"

And Kairi ran out of the room, and the building containing that room, and headed towards the parade that Naveen and Tiana mentioned.

!!!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!!!

Lea wanted to look for Kairi. The Heartless were no doubt a diversion to keep him occupied while the shadows ran away with Kairi. Lea had no doubts because it was definitely something the Organization would do, and he also saw Shadows make away with an unconscious Kairi.

But Tiana was still here, and she still need escorting and protecting until this world was free from darkness.

So, for now, he opted to stay with Tiana. Besides, maybe Sora could do something to save her, or perhaps – the most obvious – she would save _herself_. She had done it before, so she could definitely do it again.

But he was still worried about all the darkness around. Too much darkness could kill her. Her heart was in a very fragile place right now. They couldn't risk that fracture getting any worse.

Anyways, Tiana wanted to find Naveen – who was nowhere to be found either, and they all quickly thought that he had gotten off the boat already. She wanted to find him, because Ray had let slip a secret of Naveen's – that he was in love with Tiana.

And apparently, Tiana loved Naveen too. So, she wanted to find him, to tell him.

She also figured out what she needed. She wanted that restaurant, but she needed Naveen, needed him to stay at her side.

Afraid that people would step on her, Tiana opted to ride on Lea's shoulder instead, with Ray right beside her. "Now, knowing Lottie, she's going to have the biggest, fanciest float in the entire parade. If we find her, we'll find Naveen."

"Right," Lea said, before pointing to a float shaped like a giant wedding cake with a crown behind it. "Is that it?"

Seeing a woman with blonde hair and a pink and white dress standing on top of the cake, and her father sitting on a throne underneath the crown, Tiana got excited. "Yes! That's it! That's Lottie!" But her smile was slowly wiped away.

Lottie wasn't alone at the top. There was a priest performing the wedding ceremony, and there was someone beside her, someone who looked familiar to her.

"Naveen?" Tiana quietly asked.

Lea had never seen Naveen's human form before, so didn't know who the man about to marry Lottie was. "That's Naveen?"

"So, I guess, I wasn't what _he_ needed," Tiana sadly replied before leaping off Lea's shoulder and away from the festivities.

Lea quickly followed as Ray flew up to where the ceremony was, intent on giving Naveen a piece of his mind. Didn't the man say he loved Tiana?! So what was he doing marrying someone else?!

Lea quickly found Tiana in an empty alleyway. "Tiana! Please, don't go running off by yourself. You know the shadows are out there!"

Tiana sniffed, and Lea knelt beside her, "I know it's dangerous, but...Ray lied, didn't he? Or Naveen did!"

"Ray's not a bad guy," Lea gently replied as he picked her up in his hand. "And neither is Naveen. You didn't see their faces. Maybe it's not all that meets the eye. Maybe he was forced to."

"You think?" Tiana wiped her eyes as she looked up into Lea's.

"It's not impossible for someone to influence someone else, or give them an ultimatum, or force them to do something just by having power over them," Lea replied. "It happened to three of my friends. It happened to me. It happens to everyone."

Tiana sniffed again, slowly gaining her confidence back, "You're right. I should get some answers before I jump to conclusions."

"Atta girl," Lea smiled. "Just remember, don't give into the darkness. It will definitely break a pure heart like you. Keep true to yourself, okay?"

Tiana smiled and nodded, "Right. Be positive. Thank you, Lea," before the two heard Ray frantically call out for them, his glow making him stand out in the darkness as he flew closer towards them.

"Ray?" Tiana asked, both of them turning to the firefly when he finally got to them.

"This proves what we saw ain't what we thought we saw!" Ray revealed, motioning to the necklace he was carrying.

"What is this?" Lea asked.

Ray gave it to Tiana, "It's a voodoo hayacall. The Shadow Man, he been using it for the–" He was caught off by Shadows moving closer and closer. He hastily turned back around and said, "You can't let Shadow Man get this, no matter what!"

Ray turned back around to face the Shadows, while all Lea got from that was that he was right - it wasn't at all what Tiana thought it was – and that the Shadow Man needed that necklace for his evil scheme – it was filled with darkness and blood, Naveen's blood.

So Lea summoned his Keyblade – Flame Liberator – and joined Ray in his usual fighting stance. "Tiana, run! Ray and I will hold them off."

Tiana nodded before leaping away. Lea started the fight by firing a Firaga spell at one of them – little damage was done.

"Don't make me light my butt!" Ray exclaimed, before smacking the same Shadow with his lighted behind.

Of course. Only pure light could defeat pure darkness.

All the more reason to rescue Kairi, but Lea couldn't leave Ray all alone – even if the firefly was doing more damage than him.

Ray continued smacking the Shadows that Lea caught off-guard – it was a system that was working, until the Shadow Man himself had stepped onto the scene. He used his Shadow Friends to easily block Lea's swing at him, sending the redhead crashing into a wall before darkness overtook him, before stepping on Ray.

"Ray! Lea!" Louis ran upon the scene, and stopped when he saw the aftermath of what damage the Shadow Man had done.

Lea was injured and out cold, and Ray..._Ray had been squished._

Louis was speechless at the chaos that had been wrought in his absence.

!!!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!!!

Tiana's leaping away led her to a graveyard. Everything was dark. There were very few lights. She was jumpy as she clutched the necklace in her hands, fear filling her entire being as the Shadows closed in on her.

"Back off," Tiana gasped, "or I'm going to break this thing into a million pieces!"

She felt her body begin to tingle and her world light up as the scenery changed from a dark and dreary graveyard to how she always imagined her restaurant to look like – her dream. She was human again, and she had a restaurant, but... – "Naveen?" she asked – Naveen was missing. Her dream felt incomplete without him.

"Now, isn't this a whole lot better than hopping around the bayou for the rest of your life?" came a voice she never heard before.

Tiana turned around to see a man in a violet-colored suit and a top hat. He had darkness radiating from him, so much so that Tiana inwardly felt ill just from him being here. "Shadow Man..."

Facilier chuckled, "Gotta hand in to you, Tiana. When you dream, you dream big. Just look at this place. Going to be the crown jewel of the Crescent City! And all you got to do to make this a reality is hand over that little old talisman of mine." He meant to necklace.

"No. This is not right," every inch of her being was telling her how wrong this was. The only thing to get what you want in this world was through hard work.

"Come on now, darling. Think of everything you've sacrificed," Facilier continued as if Tiana had not spoken at all. He conjured up some of her past memories. "Think of all those naysayers who doubted you. And don't forget your poor daddy." Tiana's visions now showed her late father. Now that was one hard-working man. Double, sometime triple shifts." Tiana heard the sickening sound of bones cracking in her ear. "Never letting on how bone tiredand beat down he really was."

The flashback showed her father hugging her. **_"Hey, babycakes!"_**

Facilier continued, "Shame all that hard work didn't amount to much more than a busted-up old gumbo pot and a dream that never got off the back porch. But you? You can give your poor daddy everything he ever wanted. Come on, Tiana. You're almost there," he whispered in her ear.

In that moment, Lea's words came back to her, **_"Just remember, don't give into the darkness. It will definitely break a pure heart like you. Keep true to yourself, okay?"_**

Tiana remembered her daddy. Always working hard. He had a dream that never got off the ground.

When Tiana closed her eyes, the scene shifted again. This time, she was in a place where beautiful flowers grew, and Kairi was right in front of her.

"Don't lose sight of what you need, Tiana," Kairi said. "You want this restaurant. You want to make your father proud, but he already what he needed. I know exactly who you are, Tiana, and I know exactly what you need. You are _Princess Tiana, the Hardworker_. Don't ever lose sight of that."

**_'Keep true to yourself, okay?'_****_'Now, Miss Froggy, do you know what you need now?'_**

And Tiana instantly smiled and – after seeing Kairi being surrounded by a bright green light – opened her eyes, back at the illusion Facilier had created – as if she had never left.

"You're right," Tiana clutched the talisman tighter in her hand. "My daddy never did get what he wanted. But he had what he needed. He had love, and he had his family! He never lost sight of what was really important!" She raised the talisman higher in the air, ready to smash it.

"Easy with that!" Facilier objected to her actions. "Careful!" But she ignored him.

_"And neither will I!"_

She then threw it to the ground, but it never broke. Facilier's own Shadow had caught it before it hit the ground.

All of a sudden, the illusion was gone, and Tiana was a frog again. She was shoved onto her back by Facilier's cane being shoved into her chest.

Facilier chuckled, "Y'all should have taken my deal. Now you're going to spend the rest of your life being a slimy, little frog. Shame you have to die that way, too!" Facilier raised his cane, ready to strike her down – and kill her – but a slash of bright light broke his cane in half, flower petals now falling around them.

Out of nowhere, Kairi appeared – having used her Attack Haste to get to Tiana in time and striking down Facilier using Flower Raid. Kairi was wearing all white, with a crown made of lilypads on her head, and her entire being surrounded by a green glow and holding two Keyblades, Destiny's Embrace and Evangeline – called **_Nature Form_**, her Drive Form with Tiana.

Facilier stepped back, ready to attack back, but Kairi wordlessly used the Command Finish **_'Finishing Leap'_** to strike him down completely.

Tiana saw this as her chance. "I've got news for you, Shadow Man. It's not slime. It's mucus!" Tiana used her frog tongue to snatch the talisman from his hands and promptly smashed it on the ground.

"NO! NO!" Facilier gasped. It was all over! How was he ever going to pay back his debt?

Masks appeared and began chanting, as Facilier knelt down next to to talisman and picking up the broken pieces. Facilier immediately put on a panicked smile. "Friends!"

**_"Are you ready?"_** the Masks chanted.

"No! I'm not ready at all! In fact, I got lots more plans!"

**_"Are you ready?"_**

"This is just a minor setback in a major operation!" He screamed as the Shadows started pulling on his legs. "As soon as I whip up another spell, we'll be back in business! I still got that froggy prince locked away! I just need a little more time. No, please!" The Friends were not listening to him. They just kept dragged him farther and farther away from the two pure hearts and closer and closer to one of the graves. "Just a little more time!" He exclaimed. "I promise I'll pay y'all back! I promise!"

All Kairi and Tiana could do was watch in fear-filled sorrow as a hush fell over the graveyard, and when the smoke cleared, there stood a gravestone with Facilier's name and frightened face on it.

Kairi was right. His Friends did turn on him. At least, she was always right to never trust a being of pure darkness.

!!!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!!!

Tiana and Naveen were okay, and it was still minutes before minute. They were talking with their friend Lottie, and it seemed like everything would be okay.

At least for them. Louis and Ray were nowhere to be found, but Kairi didn't sense any more darkness in this world. They did it. Despite all odds, this world was saved. Tiana and Naveen, and Louis and Ray, they could now live and follow their dreams in peace.

Meanwhile, her own dream – sharing that paopu fruit with Sora – seemed so much farther away now.

Lea sat down next to her – Kairi back in her usual pink outfit. "What happened?" Lea asked. He could tell that she was depressed, so something must have happened.

This time, Kairi couldn't stop the tears from falling. "Xigbar and the Shadows..." she sniffed, "they took Sora away, and I couldn't stop it. Roxas was pissed, but it's thanks to _him_ that I'm still here."

Tears fell and Lea quickly embraced her.

"But the weird part," she continued, not breaking the hug, "is that Sora...he wanted me to let him go. Why? Was it something I said or did?"

"No, it was his choice," came Tiana's voice. Lea and Kairi broke the hug to congratulate her and Naveen on becoming humans again, but to their surprise, they were still frogs.

Kairi looked at the clock – it was past midnight. They had failed.

"You guys...are still frogs," Kairi muttered.

"Yes," Tiana said. "But don't blame yourself not getting us there on time. It was our choice to stay this way. Just like how it was your friend's choice to let go."

Of course. Kairi was too focused on her own sorrow and fear to focus on how Sora was feeling, but looking back on it now that she was calm, she could feel Sora's own fear and that familiar powerful urge to protect those closest to him. Sora knew what the right thing to do was, according to him, and he had accepted it. He was ready to fight back.

_And Kairi would be ready to help turned him back to the light._

"Yeah," Kairi replied, turning back to Tiana, getting that familiar feeling of their lights combining and resonating throughout the area. "You're right. His choice, so it wasn't my fault."

"That's right," Tiana added, sending a gentle smile at the other.

Kairi returned the smile as she placed a hand over her heart to try and comfort Roxas – who was still upset. Not as much as before, since he was able to take it out on Xigbar, but still angered and saddened by his Somebody suddenly being ripped away from him.

And Kairi had no doubt that it the roles were switched, Sora would feel the same way if Roxas were to be suddenly ripped away from him.

_Same with her and Namine._

Kairi smiled even brighter, tears still falling, when she felt Roxas accept her comfort.

The moment was ruined when Louis ran up to them, heavily saddened by the something small he was holding in his hands.

_Ray took his last breaths moments later..._

!!!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!!!

It was a couple of days after Ray's funeral, and he had joined his love Evangeline in the sky as a star. It was sad and yet also happy, but Kairi now had no doubts that the paopu fruit's legend was true, that it truly did tie destinies together – even if she felt empty without Sora.

Now, it was time to celebrate a couple coming together – Tiana and Naveen's wedding. Lea and Kairi agreed to stay, hoping to rest after what had happened a few days prior at the parade. All the creatures of the bayou were there too, with Mama Odie officiating the whole thing.

"I know pronounce y'all frog and wife," Mama Odie said after the two said their vows. "Kiss the bride, you fool."

Naveen and Tiana shared a passionate kiss, during which they were both surrounded by a bright light.

When it faded, the two were standing there, now in human wedding clothes – they were human again.

"The kiss worked?" Naveen asked. "Why this one?"

"Because when you got married," Mama Odie explained, "you just kissed yourself–"

"–a Princess," Tiana finished. "See? Hardwork always leads to the right outcome."

The two kissed again, and applause sounded all around.

Lea and Kairi took this as their cue to head back to their Gummi Ship. Now that this world was safe from darkness, and Naveen and Tiana were back to normal – and happy – there was no need for the two Guardians to be here.

"Good luck on getting your restaurant, Tiana," Kairi said. "You deserve it."

!!!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!!!

**~Lanes Between~**

The duo was back in their Gummi Ship, currently suspending in the Lanes Between. Yen Sid was on the other line of Kairi's Gummi Ship. It was obvious he had a lot of words to say about what just transpired, but he wasn't quite sure how or when to say them.

Because it was obvious that Kairi was depressed and upset by losing Sora. Pluto – who had stayed on the Gummi Ship the entire time – laid his head on Kairi's knee.

"I'm sorry for failing, Master," Kairi apologized with tear-filled eyes. "I'm sorry for not being able to save him."

**_"From what you told me,"_** Yen Sid finally spoke, and his voice was gentle and calm, the complete opposite of what Lea and Kairi were expecting from him, **_"Sora chose to let go. You shouldn't blame yourself for the choices other people make. It's unhealthy."_** Kairi nodded. Tiana had said the same thing. **_"The good that came from this is that all the three people in Sora's heart are no free, in a manner of speaking, since Sora was able to use his Power of Waking."_**

"Yes, Master," Kairi nodded.

Yen Sid sighed, **_"You two deserve a break, especially after what just happened. I will allow you, Kairi, to visit Riku."_**

Kairi's face immediately lit up into a smile. "Really?" She needed to talk to Riku, about what happened to make her reach out to him and to bring him news of what was happening to Sora.

**_"Yes,"_** Yen Sid replied. **_"Last time we spoke was three days ago. He has fully recovered from his injuries, and is currently training with Merlin in Twilight Town to gain a new Keyblade. From what I understand, as you and Riku both told me, there is a New Heart there as well, so just remember you also have a job to do there."_**

Lea and Kairi both nodded, "Yes, Sir."

**"Good luck and watch your backs,"** Yen Sid replied before hanging up.

Kairi breathed a deep sigh of relief, knowing that Master Yen Sid understood her position.

**_To Be Continued…_**

!!!~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~3~~R~E~W~R~I~T~E~~!!!

A/N: Sorry that it's so long. While I am a big fan of Kingdom Hearts, I just recently got into the fandom. **_So if I get anything wrong, I'm sorry. Please, no flaming. Instead, just politely inform me in a PM or a review_**, so I can correct any mistake I make, and if you have any questions, PM me. If the answers don't contain any spoilers, I will answer them honestly and to the best of my ability.

The fourth of the six new Hearts is **_Tiana_** from Princess and the Frog. **_Next World: Twilight Town_**, where Lea and Kairi take a much needed break from all the drama that took place in this chapter.

**FYI:** The OC I mentioned will be in the next chapter. I would love some comments **_(Read: Constructive Criticism, not Flaming)_** about what you think of her when I post up the next chapter. If you have questions about her now, go ahead and leave them in a PM or review, and I will answer as best I can.

Also, if anybody has any ideas or questions, or even suggestions about where to take the story next, please PM me.


	7. Chapter 6: Toksa

A/N: Here's the next chapter. Featuring: the world of _**Twilight Town!**_ Not much going on, as it's a break from all the drama, but it's still an important chapter.

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Disney in any way, shape, or form! I only own an OC, Aether, who appears in this chapter._

**Note:** I changed the cover of this story _**(see above)**_, and it should give you an idea on what Kairi and Aether both look like in this story.

If you want to see Aether's full design, go to my profile on DeviantArt, same name, and go to my Kingdom Hearts folder in my gallery, or go to my gallery, click 'All' on the side, and then type in 'Aether' in the search bar. Two results should pop, but her current design is the one on the right (the one with the white dress and the Keyblade at the bottom). The left one (all red dress) is for my future plans for her (if everything goes well).

I loved the KH3 Re:Mind DLC! It really did my girl, Kairi, justice! Now, Nomura, you hinted that the next game would center on Kairi (or Sokai in general), so don't screw it up, please!

**!~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~3~~R~E~W~R~I~T~E~~!**

**Let Me Face My Fears**

**Chapter 6:** _Toksa_

"_A dull ache of the soul, a sick pining, a spiritual anguish."_

**~Keyblade Graveyard~**

Useless...

Hopeless...

Helpless...

You can't save anyone.

You can't even save yourself.

You've been taken by the darkness.

_Wake up, brother._

You've seen Riku.

Even after you brought him home, he still struggles with the darkness.

And Kairi's entire homeworld was taken by darkness.

Even now, she still gets nightmares about it.

_C'mon, you seriously can't sleep forever._

Riku probably feels like he's failed you.

Kairi's probably too traumatized to fight.

All because of you.

_**WAKE UP!**_

Sora's golden eyes opened with a sudden start, his entire body trembling, his head resting on his knees, his back leaning against the rock wall behind him. He didn't feel comfortable sleeping on his back like he normally did. He was uncomfortable in his own body – the first time this had ever happened to him. He didn't feel like himself, probably because Xehanort currently had control over him.

"You awake now?" Sora looked up at the owner of the voice that had been talking to him throughout his nightmare.

"Vanitas..." Sora breathed.

Vanitas had not taken off his helmet even once, so Sora didn't know what he looked like, offering a distinct lack of answers to the question of why the two sounded alike, or why they were the same height and body build.

Yet he felt a certain connection he hasn't been able to understand.

But to be honest, that was the least of Sora's worries. He shivered as the memories came back to him.

His heart and body had just been reunited, and boy was it painful. He wasn't expecting it to be. According to King Mickey and Master Yen Sid – who were talking about freeing Ventus at the time – it was a painless process, and he even saw Kairi's heart and body reunited with his own eyes, and she didn't pass out from the pain – so they all knew it would be painless for Ven.

So, it shouldn't have been painful for him.

Sora's fists clenched as he remembered the pain, and why he was subjected to it. Vanitas seemed to roll his eyes, "Get over it. It's not that big a deal."

The small bit of light in Sora's heart alerted him to some past pain Vanitas went through, "You went through the same thing, didn't you?"

Vanitas immediately stopped, as if suddenly defensive, because it sounded more like a statement than a question. "You haven't unlocked my tragic backstory yet, so drop it." His back to Sora, he advised, "Just stop fighting it. Take it from me. It's better that way."

"I can't," Sora muttered.

Vanitas looked back to see Sora struggling to stand on his feet. "You have to. Listen, according to the old man, I'm in charge of you now. So just do as I say." Sora didn't answer. He only continued to painfully stand up.

Sora's legs were wobbly when he finally stood, and he was certain that if he tried to walk, he would only fall flat on his face. "I can't," Sora repeated. "Giving up is not who I am. The other Guardians are counting on me to fight this, and I refuse to let them down."

Vanitas was quiet as he processed that. Sora only reminded him of Ventus. Ugh, it made him sick.

"You poor boy."

Sora and Vanitas both jumped at the old man's voice suddenly interrupting them, with Ansem and Xemnas right behind him, on both sides.

"Xehanort," Sora's faces immediately lowered into a glare as he came face to face with the man who ruined his life, ruined Riku's life, ruined Kairi's life, split them up for over a year, and now was currently trying to quite literally break Kairi's heart - which will kill her if Xehanort succeeds.

Not to mention, Aqua, Terra, and Ventus, and Axel, Roxas, Xion, and Namine, and many other people whose lives he ruined and played with as he was was a child playing with their toys.

This man had to pay for every single thing he's ever done.

"Sora," Xehanort returned. "You threw quite the tantrum when your heart and body were being unified."

Sora did not ease his glare. Vanitas noted the stone cold, very familiar expression on Sora's face.

_**"I've got a better idea. How about I destroy you both?"**_

"If it was a problem for you," Sora said, "then I'm not sorry at all."

"You should be," Xehanort replied. "The process is normally painless, yes, but it hurt you because you keep fighting me, fighting to keep the last bit of light in you. I own your body, and soon I will own your heart as well."

"I won't stop," Sora vowed. "For every second for the rest of my life, I will fight you."

Xemnas and Ansem turned to Xehanort, who was quiet, his sinister smile gone and replaced with a displeased frown.

"Well?" Xemnas asked.

"It seems we have no choice," Xehanort closed his eyes.

"What if it doesn't work?" Ansem asked, knowing full well that Sora, in his present state, would be impossible to control, impossible to predict.

"Oh, it will," Xehanort casted a side glance at Vanitas, who immediately tensed up, knowing exactly what he was referring to. "It has before, and it will do so again. Soon, he will indeed become one of us, one of the thirteen Seekers of Darkness."

Xehanort and Sora connected eyes, Xehanort's full of ice, Sora's full of fire.

"Do it," was all Xehanort said, as he watched the scene play out with cold, unfeeling eyes.

Ansem's fist charged up with darkness, and Sora deeply gasped at the sudden impact on his stomach, soon doubling over at the immense pain that immediately sprang up, sinking back to his knees. Xemnas's dark lightning then shot throughout his body, his body going numb.

It hurts.

I can't breath.

Why does it burn so much?

Riku...Kairi...

_**HELP ME!**_

Vanitas' thought train took a rather surprising route, however. He knew very personally what Xehanort was trying to do with Sora – conditioning – because the old man had done the same thing to _him_. Except, Sora didn't have the painful honor of being the master and creator of the Unversed. Each and every training session brought on pain, and every feeling of pain meant an Unversed being born and defeated in training, and an Unversed returning to him was even more pain to bear.

It was an endless cycle that Vanitas was sick of, despite being used to it by now.

What was this feeling?

Vanitas turned his head towards Xehanort, who refused to take his eyes off of a writhing Sora, "You don't think he's broken enough?"

"Broken?" Xehanort scoffed. "He's nowhere near broken. He's still fighting to keep himself tethered to the light. Once we break his spirit, the process will be complete. Only then will he be broken."

Vanitas didn't turn back to Sora. He instead looked away, the scene bringing up painful memories he'd rather forget.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Twilight Town~**

Lea, Kairi, and Pluto had just landed their Gummiship in the forest - away from curious and prying eyes – and had just stumbled upon a clearing with fruit laying all over the ground.

Lea stopped, somewhat confused at the sight they stumbled upon, "Wwwhat is this?"

"It's probably an animal trying to collect food," Kairi said. "But don't worry about that right now. I sense Heartless in this area."

As soon as she said that, she heard a voice call out to her, _"Help me! I stuck up here!"_

Up?

It didn't sound like any voice belonging to Namine, Xion, Ven, or Roxas. It was somebody else, somebody outside her heart, somewhere in the real world.

Kairi did as the voice told her to – she looked up at the trees.

Sure enough, the voice was right.

Powerwild Heartless – little buggers shaped like monkeys – where in the trees.

Lea had followed her eyesight after Pluto barked at him, who had warned Lea once he realized Kairi's eyeline had stopped. And he pointed out something interesting, "Is that a rat they're cornering?"

It was. The little guy looked just like a normal rat with blue-tinted fur and brown eyes that looked frightened. He connected eyes with Kairi, as if pleading her to help him.

_"Help me!"_ She heard the voice again.

She didn't have to ask. She knew exactly where the voice was coming from. It was the same way with Pluto.

The one talking was the rat himself.

Kairi summoned Destiny's Embrace, and Lea followed suit with Flame Liberator, albeit a little confused.

"Princess?" He asked.

"Focus on the Heartless," she said.

Pluto lowered himself into a running position before running to the tree while Lea and Kairi kept the Heartless busy. Once next to the tree, the dog let the rat climb down the tree and land safely on the former's head.

By this time, all Heartless had been taken care of and the rat watched as the two red-headed humans bent down to his level.

He thanked them, knowing that at least the girl understood him. He had no idea how or why – he just knew she was special, just like someone else he knew.

"You're welcome," she replied. "Do you need anything else before we head into town?"

The rat pointed at a nearby apple and then the direction of the town.

Lea rose an eyebrow in confusion. "Huh?"

Kairi giggled before translating, "All the fruit on the ground is his, and he needs help bringing it back to his home in Twilight Town."

"Oh..." Lea replied, understanding. "I'm terrible at charades, Princess."

"Well, I can actually hear him talking," Kairi explained as they and Pluto helped the rat gather up its fruit.

"Interesting," Lea said. "Must have something to do with the fact that you're a Princess of Heart."

"Maybe," Kairi shrugged.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

The town was peaceful as Remy led the two Guardians from his perch on Kairi's shoulders. She and Lea were carrying baskets full of the fruit they picked up for him, with Pluto following close behind.

Kairi turned to Remy, "Your home is this way?"

Remy nodded and pointed at the building in front of them.

Lea read the title, "_'El Grand Bistrot'_? That's new."

"It was being built when we were still training with Merlin," Kairi replied. "Judging by the crowd, I'd say it's doing very well."

"You betcha it is!" came a familiar voice.

Lea and Kairi both turned to see Scrooge walking up to them.

"Ah, Mr. Scrooge!" Kairi greeted him with a smile. Scrooge was someone they saw during their days off from training and were allowed to roam the town for a while. Scrooge frequently brought them snacks to munch on and was the one Lea bought sea salt ice cream from.

"What are you doing here?" Lea asked.

"Why I own this restaurant, laddie!" Scrooge replied. "And my Little Chef has been gone a long time, so I was afraid something had happened to him. But I'm glad to see you two made sure he got back safely."

"_'Little Chef'_?" Lea repeated.

Kairi smiled and turned to the rat on her shoulder, "He means Remy."

"What?!" Lea asked. "A rat that cooks?!"

"Don't be deceived, laddie," Scrooge calmly replied, as if he was used to this reaction. "Little Chef here is well qualified. Despite his appearance, he's got the heart of a true chef."

"Why do you call him _'Little Chef'_?" Kairi asked Scrooge. "He says his name is _'Remy'_."

"That's what Aether says too," Scrooge replied. "Real sweet lass, but until I hear Little Chef actually talk to me like she claims he does to her, I'll take to calling him Little Chef."

"_'Aether'_?" Lea asked. That name was new to him.

Kairi turned to Remy. "Who's Aether?"

Remy pointed to Kairi's left, _"Over there. You'll know when you see her."_

Lea followed Kairi's line of sight, and both stopped when they saw a girl with pink hair and green eyes buying some sea salt ice cream and then giving them all to the little kids that surrounded her, a kind smile on her face.

"Lea..."

"That's her?" Lea asked. "The light you've been sensing?"

Kairi nodded. "Yeah. She's one of the New Hearts."

Kairi told him about the remaining Princesses. The first four had been found already, and it was confirmed that the sea salt ice cream in Kairi's dream meant the fifth was in Twilight Town. Now all they needed to do was find the sixth on that tundra world (though Kairi had said that they didn't need to worry, since the sixth New Heart was currently out of danger).

"Thank you, Aether!" the kids called out as Aether approached Scrooge and the two Guardians.

"You're welcome!" Aether replied, before turning to the group in front of her.

"Good afternoon, dearie!" Scrooge said.

"Good afternoon, Uncle Scrooge," Aether greeted with a fond smile as Pluto greeted her in the way only a dog would, and he didn't seem displeased to see her.

"You call him _'Uncle'_?" Lea asked her.

Aether nodded as she gently scratched Pluto between his ears, before Scrooge explained, "Well, a couple weeks ago, she just appeared out of nowhere, and she had no one, so I took her in."

Kairi paused as she instantly connected Aether's story with hers. For the longest time, the fact that Kairi was new to Destiny Islands and didn't know where she came from was the talk of the islands. The fact that the mayor had adopted her only increased the amount of gossip surrounding her. This gossip was what prompted the bullies to torment her with questions about her real home and real family, questions that Kairi couldn't answer because she simply didn't know the answers.

And she now wondered if Aether was going through the same thing as she herself did.

"Do you have any friends, Aether?" Kairi asked. She knew that to Lea and Scrooge, this was probably a weird question to ask, but it appeared that Aether understood.

The pinkette nodded. "Of course! Everyone's nice and friendly, and Uncle Scrooge makes me feel safe and I love talking to Remy. I feel very welcome here."

"That's good to know," Kairi replied. "You know, I was once how you are now."

"Really?" Aether asked, intruiged. She paused, as if wondering if she should do something – judging from the context of the moment, it seemed like she wanted to ask something. "D-Does the loneliness...the homesickness for a home you don't remember...do those feelings ever go away?"

"The loneliness, yes," Kairi gently smiled at her, hoping to cheer her up. "But the homesickness...even after you remember...no." The pinkette's eyes dropped to the ground, her smile gone. "But as long as you have dependable friends, you'll be okay." Green eyes met blue-violet. "And you will. Because you've made three new friends today. I'm Kairi, he's Lea, and the dog is Pluto."

Aether looked at the red-haired girl in front of her, the spikey redhead towering behind the red-haired girl, and the dog sitting at her feet.

Kairi saw the other girl's smile return. "Hi, Kairi, Lea, Pluto. I'm Aether. It's nice to meet you. Welcome to Twilight Town."

The moment that followed was peaceful and comfortable, and no one minded if it went on forever.

However, the moment was ruined by screams. Aether, Pluto, and the two Guardians immediately turned to the source, all four of them sensing danger.

Kairi saw Hayner, Pence, and Olette running away from a black wave with yellow dots – Heartless.

What was a Demon Tide doing in Twilight Town? Oh yeah...

Aether was here.

"Sorry we can't talk now, Kairi!" Olette saw as she, Hayner, and Pence were running past her and Lea. "We're running for our lives, but it's good to see you!"

Kairi turned to face the Demon Tide head on. "Don't worry. Lea and I'll handle this."

"Wait!" Aether immediately grabbed Kairi's arm. "I may be a stranger, but this is my home. Let me fight with you!"

"But you don't have a weapon!" Lea told her, as he and Kairi summoned Keyblades – Kairi with Evangeline and Lea with Nano Gear.

_**"Sorry, but you'd kinda be in my way."**_

Kairi _hated_ that excuse with a passion. After all, she was awake and following along on Sora's adventure, and most battle techniques and magic spells she used _now_ where the ones she learned from Sora _then_.

"She's got her heart, Lea!" She shot back, before turning back to her fellow Princess. "You trust me?"

"Of course!" Aether's response was immediate.

"Then, allow our hearts to connect," Kairi told her, before feeling Aether let her heart connect with Kairi's.

Kairi then allowed herself to be engulfed in light, and when it faded, her clothes had shifted from pink to all white, with a crown modeled after the struggle trophy she had seen the last time she was here, her entire being surrounded by an orange glow – she looked like a sunset. She had morphed into Radiant Form – her Drive Form with Aether – and holding Destiny's Embrace and Bell Tolls – a Keyblade modeled after the bell tower with a sea salt ice cream bar as its charm, she was ready to fight.

Kairi charged in with Attack Haste, and Lea charged in soon after, both of them leaving Pluto to guard Aether, the latter of whom watched the two fight.

Kairi swung heavy and hard. Her strikes were powerful but precise, and her magic was great. And Aether noticed that Radiant Form – _her_ powers – gave Kairi a powerful boost in speed and defense.

Lea fought like a ninja. He was fast and liked to throw his Keyblade, and his primary attacks were fire-based.

She still had a lot to learn about fighting in general – she preferred pacifism – but she did know that they were powerful, and she felt safe with them.

Lea used Cubic Stream – one of Nano Gear's Shotlocks – as Kairi used Faith. The Demon Tide stumbled, but it wasn't enough to completely destroy it. But it was enough to make it go into its second form – a tornado.

Aether felt the darkness coming from the Demon Tide, and it was making her sick – not enough to cause nausea, but enough for her mind to tell her to run.

But she didn't. She wouldn't. Twilight Town was her home now, even if she didn't remember her previous one. Uncle Scrooge and Remy were her family, even if she didn't remember her previous one.

So she dug in her heels and stayed, waiting to see if there was anything she could to help. This Demon Tide scared her, and she had no weapon to defend herself – which made her fear worse – but she stayed.

This is when she heard a scream. Her head turned to the source, and saw the little kids she gave ice cream to earlier running away from the danger. One girl had tripped, and she had screamed because the Demon Tide saw this as an opening to get her.

Aether's feet moved on her own. One minute she was standing next to Pluto and Uncle Scrooge, the next she was tackling the girl and moving her to safety, the Demon Tide hitting that same spot of concrete just seconds later.

"Get out of here!" She told the girl, who nodded and ran away as Aether turned back to the Demon Tide.

"Aether!" Kairi called out. "Use your light with mine!"

"Okay!"

"Let's do this!"

_**"Light!"**_

The two used Faith together – an attack called _'White Calm'_. This attack blinded the Demon Tide long enough for Lea to weaken it with Nano Gear's Zone Connector. Now that the enemy was open to attack, Kairi was free to finish it off with Radiant Form's final attack – Final Arcanum.

Kairi's clothes flash back to pink as she and Lea put away their Keyblades.

"Good job, Aether," Kairi said. "You were great."

"Yeah, you were a big help," Lea told the pinkette, who beamed at the compliments.

"Kairi!" The mentioned Guardian turned to Hayner, Pence, and Olette, the three of whom were running towards Kairi, happy and cheerful now that the danger was over.

"Nice fightin'!" Hayner said. "Thanks, Kairi."

"No problem at all," she replied. "Hayner, Pence, Olette. It feels like it's been ages."

"What?" Pence asked, pointing out that, "It hasn't been _that_ long."

Kairi giggled as Olette gasped before raising a nail-covered bat and raising it in Lea's direction. "Olette!"

"What are you doing here?!" Olette growled at Lea, who immediately raised his hands in surrender, fear clear on his face.

Hayner and Pence, once seeing Lea – and his very identical appearance to Axel, the one who kidnapped Kairi – immediately raised their fists, all three of them intent on protecting Kairi this time.

Kairi quickly figured this out and immediately stepped in front of Lea to protect _him_. "Woah, woah, woah! Take it easy, guys. I appreciate the gesture, but Lea's on our side now. Do you trust me?"

The three slowly lowered their weapons. "Yeah, we trust you, Kairi," Hayner replied. "But we're watching you," he told Lea.

"Got it," Lea replied. "Anyways, is everyone okay? No one hurt?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Pence replied. "So does this mean that weird stuff is going down again?"

"You kidding, Pence?" Hayner asked. "When have we ever seen a tornado of shadowy blobs before? It's not _'weird'_. This is underprecedented."

Pence thought about this. "Hmm, I guess it is. The creatures from last time were bright white. These things must be new. Man, I can't wait to get to sleuthin'."

Olette gently rolled her eyes. "We're already done with the school project, silly." She turned to Kairi. "Whatever's going on, you wouldn't be here unless you had a good reason."

"Yeah, actually, we have things to do," Kairi said, before pulling out a photo. "But I know you guys are curious about Roxas."

"Roxas?" Olette asked as Hayner thought, the trio looking at the picture Kairi gave them. It was a picture of them with Roxas.

"Oh yeah," Pence realized. "He's the guy that the other versions of us were friends with! We've got a photo just like it," he said before pulling out a similar photo, except there was no Roxas.

"Of course!" Hayner's memory came back to him. "The other Twilight Town!"

The six all looked at the two photos.

"It's like one of those _'spot the differences' _puzzles..." Aether said, "except really easy. I guess in that town, you guys are friends with this _'Roxas' _person."

Why was she feeling so sad? She could feel this Roxas person's sadness as if he was right there with them.

"Who is he, though?" Olette asked. "Is Roxas part of the other Twilight Town?"

"No," Lea quietly replied. "He's real, and he deserves all the happiness in the world." Aether only nodded – the sadness she was currently feeling _had_ to belong to Roxas.

"Okay," Hayner said, after taking a good look at both Lea and Aether's sadness – and Aether's nod – none of which he could figure out the reasons for. "Olette, Pence, we're going to track Roxas down."

"Really?" Kairi asked, a smile on her face.

"Of course," Hayner replied. "He seems like a pretty cool guy."

"Yeah, he is," Kairi nodded.

"Great," Pence said. "Then, let's start by asking around town."

"I'll leave that to you guys," Kairi said. "I have something to do first."

"Me too," Lea said, before he and Kairi left the scene.

"I'll help you guys out later," Aether told the trio. "There's something I have to check out."

"Okay."

The trio watched as Aether walked away from the scene.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Lea sat alone atop the clock tower, two sea salt ice creams in one, and eating a third with the other. The mention of Roxas earlier made him sad, and he was now reminiscing over past memories of Roxas and the girl that was always with them.

"I shoulda been there for you by now, Roxas," Lea muttered. "But here we are."

"Shouldn't you be saying goodbye to your _real_ home?" came Saix's voice.

Lea watched as Saix sat next to him, "Why...?"

"I'm not here to fight," Saix said. "Relax." He took one of the untouched ice creams from him. Lea immediately reached for it, trying to get it back.

"Hey!"

"You can't eat all this," Saix replied. "I'm curious as to why you bought _three_ of them." He was referencing the ice cream. "One for you, obviously. One for Roxas...and a third for good luck?"

Lea turned away, unable to say the honest answer – that it was for a girl he couldn't remember, trying to be tough, "I dunno. Because I felt like it, okay?" He turned back to Saix, as the blue-haired man ate the ice cream he took. "Why are you here?"

"Got it memorized?" Saix teased in his own unique way. "Back when we were still friends, we used to sneak into the castle."

"Yeah..."

"And we made a friend there, a girl," Saix continued. "We apprenticed to Ansem the Wise to rescue her."

"Yeah," Lea gently shot back, "and look where that got us! One day, she was just gone!"

"You gave up."

Lea immediately stopped. Saix struck a chord, and Lea was forced to turn away to avoid Saix's knowing gaze. "I did not give up. One day we're apprentices, the next Ansem the Wise has up and vanished, the day after we're Nobodies, day after that we're doing icky jobs for Xemnas. I couldn't keep up with you."

"Following Xehanort's Nobody was the only way to discover what happened to her," Saix reminded him. "She was his lab rat."

"You found her?" Lea asked, sounding hopeful. "I helped you rise up the ranks, so I hope it paid off."

"I'm afraid not," Saix revealed. "Nary a trace. I started to wonder if we'd imagined her. Maybe she never existed. And then, in time, I awakened to a new purpose. I realized I could be stronger."

"Well, then, you blew it!" Lea said. "Wise up already and just quit."

"Face it. Roxas is just like our other friend." Saix told him, surprising Lea. "Gone forever. You need to accept that."

This angered Lea a great deal. "You wish. I'm getting her back. All of 'em! Especially Roxas! And the girl he and I were with! I'm even dragging _you_ home."

"Including Namine?" Saix asked.

"Huh?" This response surprised Lea. Why did Saix bring _her_ up?

"She is a Nobody just like Roxas, is she not? She deserves happiness too, doesn't she?" Saix, by this point, had finished his ice cream. "The marks under your eyes. They're gone."

"Yeah. Don't need 'em," Lea replied, reluctant.

Saix got to his feet. "Always told you they'd stop you from crying. The upside down tears. Next time we meet, Lea, we're enemies."

"Would you get lost?!" came Lea's outburst, as he flailed his arms around. "Don't make me clobber you!"

Saix only smiled as he opened a Corridor. "Hm. I expect no less."

After Saix's departure, Lea took a deep breath to calm himself.

That conversation didn't make him feel any better.

Lea suddenly felt a light pressure on his knee, and when he looked down, he saw a sad Pluto leaning his head on Lea's knee in an attempt to comfort him.

Lea gently scratched Pluto's ears as he thought about Saix's words.

_**"Face it. Roxas is just like our other friend. Gone forever. You need to accept that."**_

"I won't," Lea told himself. "I won't accept that. I won't give up. I never give up on my friends."

But he knew that even if he did manage to rescue all of his friends – Saix, Namine, Roxas, his and Roxas' friend, the girl he and Isa were trying to rescue – his first duty would always be to Kairi. Her heart was breaking, after all, and he knew she didn't like to be protected, but in this case, she _needed_ to be.

And he needed to be there to prevent anything drastic.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Merlin's Timeless Realm~**

Kairi worriedly watched Riku punch a tree in frustration after failing to produce a functioning, unbroken Keyblade for what seemed to be the hundredth time.

He was well inversed in his training. His jacket was resting on a nearby boulder – the one she and Lea sat on during training breaks – and she had been watching him for the past five minutes and he still hadn't noticed her.

Seriously, had he taken a break at all? She could see the bandages on his arms and chest – he was still hurt from Aqua's attacks.

"Riku..." she finally spoke out loud.

Sure enough, Riku immediately turned around to face her when he heard her voice. "Kairi!"

"How are you doing?" she asked him as he grabbed his jacket and slipped it back on.

He sighed, "Not good. With each moment that passes, Mickey and Aqua spend more time at the mercy of darkness itself. I can't waste any more time and I've already spent so much here. Anyways, how have _you_ been? Master Yen Sid was rather vague in his update yesterday."

"Because I asked him to be," Kairi revealed. "I wanted to tell you in person." Because she felt responsible.

"Tell me what?" Riku asked.

Kairi paused. He deserved to know. "Xehanort has Sora's heart too."

Like she knew it would, this news struck Riku at his core. He sat down on the nearby boulder, speechless. "No...no..." he was shaking his head. "Sora is..."

"–Not gone yet," Kairi quickly cut in. Riku looked back up at her as she sat down next to him, obviously confused but also wanting to hope. So she explained, "He's been put back together, yes, but I can still sense light in him. But we'll focus on him later. Right now, you need to rescue King Mickey and Master Aqua."

"You sure?" Riku asked.

"It's what Sora would want," she made a good point. "He'll be fine, Riku. For now. His connection to the light is still there."

Riku lightly smiled, unable to deny the truth in that. Kairi was a Princess of Heart, after all. "I can't do any rescuing without a Keyblade."

"I know," she said, standing up and kneeling in front of him. She held out a hand. "Do you trust me?"

"Always," his answer was immediate and absolute.

"Then take my hand and close your eyes," she told him.

Riku did so. He was met with darkness for a moment before seeing the X-Blade.

_**"According to the old history books, the original X-Blade shattered into twenty pieces, thirteen shards of pure darkness and seven fragments of pure light,"**_ Kairi explained, as the X-Blade image before him shattered. _**"The fate of the thirteen shards of darkness is still unknown, but the seven pieces of light found their way into seven maidens, becoming the hearts of and giving rise to the seven Princesses of Heart. If anyone can help you get a new Keyblade, it's one of us."**_

"This is your first time doing this, isn't it?" Riku asked.

_**"Mm-hmm,"**_ Kairi replied.

"Then how do you know what to do?"

_**"Here's a little secret, Riku,"**_ Kairi said. _**"When a Princess of Heart uses her powers, she doesn't think or even just do. She **__feels__** and it just happens. My heart knows what to do, and that is usually enough. Now, let's get started. First, we need to dive deep into your heart."**_

Riku's attention was brought to the Station of Awakening that just appeared. It was a dark blue with an image of Riku holding Soul Eater being the largest – this was _his_. The other three people on his Station where Ansem – the one who led him to darkness – King Mickey, and Namine – the two that helped him back to the light. "We're here." Riku turned around to see a pink/red-ish Station of Awakening with a picture of Kairi holding a paopu fruit, the other people on her Station being him, Sora, Namine, Aqua, and an old woman that Riku figured was Kairi's grandmother – this was Kairi's heart. "Yours is here too."

_**"Good,"**_ Kairi replied. _**"It means our hearts are properly connected, so we can continue. I can see deep into your memories, Riku. I know who you were then, who you are now, and who you will be in the future."**_

"What do you see?" Riku asked, half-curious to what she was seeing. He had quite a few memories he didn't want her or Sora to know about, memories he was ashamed of. So what was Kairi getting from those memories?

_**"I see someone with good intentions, someone who has made mistakes but always atones for them, someone who fell to darkness to protect their friends, someone with great inner strength. Your heart is brave, Riku. Darkness doesn't control you anymore. **__You__** control **__it__**."**_

"Thanks, Kairi," Riku's heart felt warm. Kairi's light was illuminating it and he felt better than he had ever been. "I know what to do now."

_**"You're welcome,"**_ she replied. _**"You can open your eyes now. We're done."**_

Riku opened his eyes to see Kairi's smile in Merlin's Timeless Realm. "Thanks, Kairi," he repeated. "I know what I need to do now."

"Good," she said. "But before you do that, let's test out that new Keyblade of yours." She nodded her head at Riku's free hand.

He didn't realize he had produced a new Keyblade until just now. Its handle was black and its blade was very similar to Terra's.

_Braveheart._

From a distance, Merlin watched the two begin sparring to test out Riku's new Keyblade. And he smiled.

A victory amongst what felt like a barrage of losses.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Twilight Town~**

Aether was standing right outside the gates of the old mansion. The sadness she had felt from who she was sure was Roxas had led her here.

He had been here. He had stood in this very spot before. He had glanced up into that window and seen a blonde girl in a white dress.

She was well aware that the people of Twilight Town were convinced that this mansion was haunted, many of them spreading that rumor because they were just so creeped out by it.

But she was actually more _sad_ than scared. Roxas, whoever he was, had gone through a lot of pain.

"Hey there!"

"Woah!" Aether screamed as Hayner jumped in her line of sight out of nowhere, her heart beating fast before realizing who it was that scared her. "Oh, it's just you guys. Thanks for the heart attack."

Hayner began to laugh, "Oh, what? Did I scare you?"

Aether lightly smacked his shoulder, "Stop laughing. I was _not_ scared, thank you very much."

"Don't mind him," Olette told the pinkette. "We realized that we haven't formally met each other yet. I'm Olette. He's Pence."

"Hi," Pence waved at her.

"And the scarer is Hayner."

"Yo!" Hayner said. "We didn't get any leads."

"Yeah, the asking around thing was a total bust," Pence added.

"So, this old mansion is our last hope," Olette explained. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I have a feeling this is where you'll find Roxas," Aether told them, revealing to them something she was afraid no one would understand. "Or, start on that path, at least."

"Then, it's a good thing we came here," Hayner said. "Let's go in, guys."

"Yeah!" Pence exclaimed. "Another Twilight Town awaits!"

The pinkette breathed a light sigh of relief when none of them asked what she meant. She didn't really feel like explaining. Besides, she didn't really think they'd understand.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Once inside the mansion, Aether was led by the other three to the basement, where a large computer was. Pence ran to the computer.

"Here we go!" Pence exclaimed as he sat in the chair. "Let's see...the password was, uh..._'sea-salt ice cream'_, right?" The computer beeped, and Pence continued typing. "Okay, I'm in. Let's get that transporter working. It'll take a few minutes to warm up..."

This was the last thing Aether heard as she let her heart lead her around the rest of the mansion.

Her heart led her to an empty room full of drawings taped to the walls, drawings full of various scenes centered around one boy with spiky, brunette hair.

_**"I can't turn back anymore. This decision is the best outcome."**_

At the table, she saw the same blonde girl sitting on one side, and a girl in black sitting on the other side.

_**"You were never meant to exist..."**_

Aether felt dizzy, her heart heavy, as these fragments of memories filled her mind. What where these memories? Who lived here? What happened to them?

She needed air. She needed to process all this pain, all this sorrow.

Pretty soon, she found herself back with Hayner, Pence, and Olette in the computer room. She breathed an inward sigh of relief – she felt safe with them.

She made a move to join them, but she stopped when for a moment, they faded and there was a blonde boy in their place, angrily using his weapon to destroy the computer. The memory faded back to reality, with the computer still standing and running.

_**"Sora...You're lucky. Looks like my summer vacation is...over."**_

And then another memory came.

_**"But now...I have to go back to sleep again..."**_

This memory felt disconnected from the mansion, but there was still something – or someone – that tied them together.

She hated this place. It was evident that nothing good, nothing happy ever came from here.

"I can't wait to see what the other Twilight Town looks like," Hayner was saying, bringing Aether back to reality.

"This is so exciting!" Olette exclaimed.

"Burn this mansion to the ground!" Aether coldly interrupted them. The trio turned to her, worry evident on their faces.

"Aether, you okay?" Olette asked, her, Pence, and Hayner noticing the pinkette's clenched hands, tear-filled eyes, and angry look etched on her face. "What happened?"

Aether shook her head, unable to put her current feelings and what she witnessed into words. "I need air."

The other three could only watch as their new friend raced out of the mansion like her life depended on it.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Why did Aether run out? What happened? What did she find that made her so upset?

Hayner, Pence, and Olette glanced up when they heard footsteps getting closer to them. Kairi and Lea had arrived at the mansion, just like they promised.

Kairi noted the computer screen flashing red with the words _'DATA ERROR'_ on it. "Hey, how's it going?"

"We can't go to the other Twilight Town," Pence explained. "The transporter's been protected."

"From what?" Lea asked.

"I guess from us," Pence shrugged.

"We did send Sora there before," Hayner explained. "It worked then. Why not now?"

"I don't know," Pence said.

"And there's no other way?" Olette asked.

"None that I know," Pence replied.

"Great..." Kairi muttered, crossing her arms, right before her Gummi Phone went off. She picked up quickly and was surprised as to who was calling her. "Ienzo! Hello. Why are you calling me?"

_"Hello, Kairi," _Ienzo replied._ "You wouldn't happen to be in front of a computer, would you?"_

"Yeah. How'd you know?" Kairi asked.

_"I was tinkering with Ansem's computer – you know, to decrypt the Code that was left in it?" _Ienzo explained. _"And I noticed that someone had logged in from another terminal. I figured it might be you."_

"Umm...that wasn't me," Kairi said. "Or Lea."

_"Okay, then who was it that logged in?" _Ienzo asked.

"Oh, hi there!" Pence called out. "This is Pence. I'm the one who logged into the computer."

"He's a friend of mine," Kairi explained to Ienzo with a smile. "We can trust him."

_"Okay," _Ienzo replied with a sigh of relief. _"As long as it's a user we know we can trust." _He knew Kairi was a Princess of Heart, and her heart was honest to a fault. If she trusted someone, then her friends and allies – who had darkness in their hearts – could trust that person too.

"Yup," Pence said, as Kairi turned the Gummi Phone's camera to face Pence, so he and Ienzo could chat. "But, I'm kind of stuck here. One of the programs is protected, so...I can't run it."

Hayner groaned as Ienzo asked, _"Which program?"_

"The transporter to the other Twilight Town!" came Hayner's sudden outburst. "It's the only way to find Roxas. You gotta help us."

"Another Twilight Town?" Ienzo repeated Hayner's words in his mind. "And a _'transporter'_? Okay...a virtual town inside the computer, made of data. It's a datascape. We used one to investigate Jiminy's journal. Maybe I can do something. Pence, let's get a network set up. My address here is–"

Kairi held the Gummi Phone as the two techno geeks chatted for the next fifteen minutes. She felt Lea's hands suddenly grab hers, startling her.

"Huh?" she jumped in surprise.

"Stay awake, Princess," Lea advised her.

"You were dozing off," Olette explained with a smile. "Lea stopped you from dropping the Phone."

"Oh, sorry," Kairi apologized, mainly to Pence and Ienzo.

_"It's alright," _Ienzo said. _"We're done. Sharing is now enabled, so our computers have successfully networked together, which means I can take control of the terminal there and change the privileges for you."_

"Great! Thank you!" Hayner exclaimed.

"What about Roxas and Namine?" Kairi asked.

_"Them too," _Ienzo reassured her. _"For the virtual world to be completely realized, Ansem the Wise would've included Roxas' and Namine's full data in the construction. Meaning, somewhere on your machine there's a log of data that..."_ he paused, wondering if he should go full technobabble, _"...basically, will allow us to decipher Ansem's Code more quickly __**and**__ analyze the virtual Twilight Town at the same time. Long story short, it's a win for us Guardians."_

"Good job," Lea complimented.

_"Thank you. Chip and Dale are helping me out here on this end," _Ienzo said. _"I'll call you back as soon as we know anything more."_

"Thanks, Ienzo," Kairi smiled.

_"You're welcome," _Ienzo said. _"Oh, before I forget – a bit of troubling news. It's about one of the Organization's former members. You knew him as Vexen – but to us he was Ansem's apprentice Even. He was recompleted like the rest of us, but hadn't regained consciousness yet. Then, sometime after Lea left, Even vanished. Aeleus and Dilan – the two you knew as Lexaeus and Xaldin – they went out looking for him, but – he's just gone. And I'm starting to worry."_

"You think he's on _their_ side?" Lea asked.

Ienzo sighed, _"I think it's a real possibility. He's a devious researcher. Just be careful, and watch your backs. Good luck, Pence and friends." _He then hung up.

"So, who's Namine?" Hayner asked. "And what are the _'Guardians'_...and _them_?"

Kairi and Lea met eyes, both wondering if they should explain everything to civilians or keep them safe and in the dark.

But they were civilians that had helped them once before.

Besides, Kairi knew what it was like to be in the dark about things. She hated it.

So she went right for it.

"Roxas is Sora's Nobody," Kairi explained. "And Namine is mine. Both of their hearts are currently within mine, because Sora...is in a bit of trouble. Nobodies are born when people lose their hearts and become Heartless."

"Like the Demon Tide you saw earlier," Lea cut in. "That was a tornado of Heartless. And the squiggly things you saw before were Nobodies. But Roxas and Namine are a special kind of Nobody, hence why they have human forms."

"But Namine...is special," Kairi said. "I'm a Princess of Heart, and what that means is that I basically have no darkness in my heart. Darkness is required to become a Heartless and have a Nobody, but two years ago, I hid my heart within Sora's, and he turned into a Heartless to free me. That's what created Roxas and Namine."

"Namine..." Olette muttered. "I'd like to meet her. For some reason, whenever I hear her name, I feel a sense of loneliness, like she's always been trapped."

"I guess, in a sense, she still is," Kairi softly replied, before pointing to her heart. "Now that she's apart of me again, I figured that everything was alright. But it's not. Everything is far from fine. Because she can't eat sea salt ice cream, feel the wind on her face, none of it. And if she could, it would be different for her. Her time was short, but she lived it, and that makes it hers. What right did I have to take those feelings and experiences back? They don't belong to me. Nothing's as it should be. Not for her or Roxas." Or Xion for that matter.

_**"Kairi..."**_ she heard Namine muttered.

"That settles it!" Hayner exclaimed. "We're saving both Roxas and Namine!"

"We know where their hearts are," Lea explained. "They just need bodies to occupy."

"Alright," Pence said. "We're on it. Now, what are the _'Guardians'_? And what are they guarding?"

"The Guardians of Light," Kairi said. "We are a team of seven Keyblade wielders that guard the light against the darkness, which is currently being controlled by the thirteen Seekers of Darkness."

"The _'them'_," Lea clarified. "We're basically the good guys. And if you three can help us save Roxas and Namine, then we'll forever be in your debt. Especially since we need to focus on the war against the Seekers."

"Leave Roxas and Namine to us," Hayner vowed. "You guys don't need to worry about anything except the bad guys."

Kairi and Lea both smiled. "Thank you," Kairi felt extremely grateful for Hayner, Pence, and Olette in this moment.

But she felt bad in noticing just now that something – or someone – was missing.

"Where's Aether?" She asked. Why didn't she notice the pinkette's absense until now?

"Oh, she left," Hayner replied.

"She seemed to be upset," Olette explained. "She didn't tell us why, or what she saw, but it really seemed to break her."

"She wanted to burn this mansion down," Pence relayed Aether's last words to them.

_**"You need to find her, Kairi,"**_ came Roxas' voice from within her heart. _**"Now."**_

"I need to find her," Kairi easily agreed with Roxas, because she was worried about Aether. "Does she have any place she likes to go? Y'know, like to think?"

"On top of the clock tower," Hayner told her. "She once told us that watching the sunset calms her down."

"Right, thanks," Kairi said. "Before I forget, Roxas wants to let you guys know that he's grateful for your efforts in finding him and he's waiting for the day he can officially meet you guys for real. But before that happens, he has something else he needs to do." Because he was a Guardian of Light, like Lea and Kairi, and he needed to save Sora, his Somebody.

"We'll be waiting for you, Roxas," Olette answered. "Right here in Twilight Town. And Kairi? Make sure Aether's okay. She may be new, but I don't think any of us would take it well if anything happened to her. As Mr. Scrooge likes to say, she puts the _'light' _in Twilight Town."

"I don't sense any darkness around her," Kairi admitted, connectng her heart with Aether's. "She's not in any immediate danger. But don't worry. You can count on me. Lea, stay with them. I'll call you as soon as I find her."

Lea nodded as Kairi raced out of the mansion.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Sure enough, Aether was sitting on top of the clock tower. Kairi found her sulking, her knees to her chest and her body wrapped in a ball.

She looked so small and vulnerable.

"Aether?" Kairi softly called out.

Aether's pink head lifted up and turned to Kairi. Her green eyes had obviously been crying, as they were now red and puffy. "Oh, hey, Kairi. I'll apologize for my outburst later. I just can't step another foot in that mansion."

"Hayner, Pence, and Olette are not mad at you," Kairi softly assured her as she sat down next to her. "They're just worried. They suspect you found something while you were exploring. Did you?"

Aether took a deep, shaky breath, wondering if she could trust Kairi to understand, "Most people don't know this, but I have a tendency to pick up the broken pieces that people leave behind. That mansion holds nothing but pain and sorrow. Loneliness, reluctant resolve, finding out your entire life is a lie, and faint traces of eternal sleep. Four broken hearts who deserve to see the world through their _own_ eyes."

Within Kairi's heart, she felt four separate sudden strikes of sadness and guilt. _Of course. _Aether picked up the broken pieces of Roxas, Namine, Xion, and Ventus.

"Would you go back to that mansion if you knew it held a chance at saving them?" Kairi asked.

"Yes," came Aether's answer. "If it's for them, I could brave it."

_**"Please, let me talk to her,"**_ came Roxas' voice again.

"Do you know their names?"

"No, but I wish I did," Aether replied. "That way I could find them and let them know that everything's gonna be okay."

Kairi smiled, "You just did," before letting Roxas take over, knowing that Aether's True Sight would let her see him as _Roxas_, and not Kairi like normal people would.

"Huh?" A confused Aether turned to face Kairi only to find a familiar looking blonde in her place. "Y-You're..._Roxas_?"

He smiled and nodded, before handing her a sea salt ice cream bar.

Aether took it as she told him, "Hayner, Pence, and Olette are looking for you."

"I know," he replied. "And they know right where I am. But before we meet in person, there's a couple of things I need to do first. I just want to thank you. Not many people think of Nobodies as their own people."

"Why not?" Aether asked, not understanding that probably due to her being a Princess of Heart. "You have emotions. I know, because I can feel them as if they were my own."

Roxas was quiet as he digested that. "You pick up the broken pieces that people leave behind?" He repeated her words to Kairi.

"Yeah," Aether explained. "My heart automatically synchronizes with others'. Whatever they feel, I feel it too. Pain and suffering are what make up the broken pieces, and those feel the most suffocating. I can't control it. I don't even know if it _can_ be controlled. And I don't like to share this information with anybody. Most people don't understand."

"A Princess of Heart would," Roxas muttered, causing her to turn to him. He continued, "People gravitate towards you, Aether, because your light manages to fix their broken fragments, mostly without you even trying."

Aether smiled, before telling him, "You have a strong heart, Roxas. You're broken, I can feel it, but you still get back up."

"So do you," he replied. He knew that she was just making an observation, and he didn't mind, because he meant his as a compliment.

Aether smiled as Roxas changed forms, Kairi letting someone else take over. In Roxas' place was a familiar blonde haired girl.

"Your light is strong too," the blonde girl said. "It's very nice to meet you, Aether. I am Namine, Kairi's Nobody."

"I'm not sure what a Nobody is," Aether began, "but Namine, you deserve as much as Roxas does to be your own person. So, please don't introduce yourself as anyone except _'Namine'_. You're you. No one else."

Namine smiled, "I know, and thanks to you, I don't feel so lonely."

"You're welcome," Aether watched Namine fade into a black haired girl – who looked very similar to Kairi.

"Sorry we made you cry," the black-haired girl apologized.

Aether shook her head, noting her drying tears. "It's alright. I'm an emotional person anyways."

"I'm Xion, and I was never supposed to exist," the girl explained the source of her pain.

"But you do," the pinkette gently shot back. "Every breath you take, every tear you shed, every sea salt ice cream you share with _your_ friends – all the experiences you have are _real_, and that makes them _yours_."

Xion was tearing up, "Right. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Xion," Aether replied as Xion changed forms to a boy who looked just like Roxas.

But she knew from their different hearts that it wasn't Roxas.

"You're the one I saw sleeping," she said.

The boy smiled, "Yeah, that's me, but it's a long story. My name's Ventus, but you can call me Ven."

Aether repeated, "_'Ven'_. Okay." She paused, noting how, even though his heart was completely filled with light, like hers and Kairi's, it was missing something. "Your heart is incomplete. There's a piece missing."

Ven seemed to know exactly what she was talking about, "I know. That's part of the reason my body is still sleeping."

"How long have you gone without it?" she asked.

"Almost fifteen years now."

Aether saw a chance to connect with his missing piece, and she took it, "He's lonely."

"Huh?"

"Your other half," she explained. "He's been _conditioned_ to feel only pain and to take that pain out on _you_. He doesn't actually blame you, not the most at least, but he _is_ jealous of the fact that you have friends and he...doesn't. People love your company, yet he wonders why no one seems to genuinely care about _him_."

Ven was quiet as he took that in. When he replied, he was soft, "How would _I_ feel...if our roles were reversed?"

"Who knows?" Aether shrugged. "Maybe differently. Maybe the same as him. Or, maybe we'll never know. You two were once the same person, but he's gained a heart of his own."

Ven smiled, "Right. I hope you never have to go through what _I_ did. And if you ever do, don't lose your kindness. It's your greatest strength."

Aether returned his smile, "And your bravery is _yours_."

Ven faded back into Kairi. She was herself again.

_**Princess Aether, the Fixer.**_

"Feel better?" Kairi asked, before taking a bite of her sea salt ice cream.

"Lots," Aether replied. "Thank you, Kairi. I feel safe with you."

"You're welcome, Aether."

The two then watched the sunset together in comfortable silence.

Because if Aether felt safe here with Kairi, then who was she to take that away?

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Kairi and Lea had left the next morning, needing to get back to their mission to secure the sixth New Heart. With Riku fully healed and with a new Keyblade that he had admitted better suited him than Way to the Dawn had lately, he had gone to find a way back into the Realm of Darkness. Besides, Kairi's mental health had greatly improved and the fifth New Heart had been secured.

Basically, there was no reason for them to be in Twilight Town now.

Aether had apologized to her three new friends for her outburst. They had forgiven her, and now the four were staking out the mansion, seeing if someone would come there.

From behind a couple of trees, the four watched as two guys in black coats exited a dark portal, one man had white hair and dark skin while the man following him had blonde hair and light skin.

"Here we go," Hayner whispered to the other three.

"It's about time," Pence whispered back.

"C'mon!" Olette led them to the wall surrounding the mansion, and the four listened to the following conversation.

The two Ansems were unaware of the four kids eavesdropping on them.

White-haired Ansem turned to blonde-haired Ansem after stopping right outside the mansion. "What now?"

Blonde-haired Ansem was looking at Namine's old window. "Please, don't do this. I have created enough victims already."

White-haired Ansem did not hold back, "Yes, you have. All the children sacrificed in the name of your research...So make things right."

Ansem the Wise knew exactly who the white-haired man was referring to, "I told you I did not take her. Her disappearance was why I put a stop to the research."

White-haired Ansem shot back, "And that makes you honorable? You used Roxas and Namine and threw them away. I doubt there's a merciful bone in your body. You took the girl, and hid her. You also ran experiments on your own Princess. Now, show me the data you are hiding here. Master Xehanort _needs_ that sketchbook."

Ansem the Wise sadly sighed, "Roxas and Namine...If there is any reason that I still draw breath, it is to atone for what I did to them. And I did not authorize the experiments on young Kairi. Those were done without my permission."

The four kids still eavesdropping gasped at the three names the blonde man spoke.

"He said _'Roxas'_ and _'Namine'_," Pence said.

"_And_ Kairi," Aether added. Why did he mention Kairi?

"Yeah," Hayner nodded.

Olette readied herself for a fight, "That man needs us."

The other three nodded, "Right."

Ansem the Wise continued, "If you do find the mystery girl, what is it that you expect will happen?"

"The child's memory holds a mystery to unravel – one concerning the battle we seek between light and darkness. You know something and that...is why you stopped the experiments," the white-haired Ansem replied.

"You are completely deluded, Xehanort," Ansem the Wise glared at his counterpart. "And I don't know what you want with Namine's sketchbook, but there's no way I'm telling you where it is."

White-haired Ansem lowered his glare, "We shall soon see." He grabbed Ansem the Wise's shoulder and pushed him towards the entrance.

This was it.

Pence came out of hiding. "Yoo-hoo!" The two Ansems paused when they heard the boy call out to them. "'Scuse meee!"

White-haired Ansem turned and asked, "Who are you?"

"Oh, well, I'm looking for a friend who used to live here," Pence replied, not showing any fear.

White-haired Ansem turned back around, "No one lives here. Begone."

Pence tried his best to stop them, "But sir..."

But white-haired Ansem was quick to stop him, "No, no, no! Not one more step. Get out!"

The dark-skinned man walked toward Pence, while Olette grabbed Ansem the Wise, and the two ran off together. "This way!" she told the man she was leading away.

Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, took quick notice of Ansem the Wise being led away, but his attention was brought back to the boy Pence due to him being joined by a pink-haired girl.

_That was her. He found her._

Aether stood in front of Pence, intent on protecting him from whatever this man had up his sleeve. She could sense darkness in him. She knew he was up to no good.

"Hey loser!" Then came Hayner's flying kick to the back of the man's head. But Pence and Aether both watched as a big shadow monster – like a Heartless – suddenly appeared and grabbed Hayner's foot before his kick could land. "Or not!"

"Hayner!" Pence called out.

The big Heartless threw Hayner against a wall, but a familiar squiggly, silver colored creature saved him by wrapping itself around him. Six more of the silver creatures appear, surrounding the black-coated man and the big Heartless.

"The squiggly things?" Pence asked as the Dusk protecting Hayner got off of him and reformed, joining the other six.

"They...protected me," Hayner muttered.

Aether watched the Dusk that had protected Hayner position itself so that it was directly in front of her. They had protected Hayner, and were now protecting _her_.

She then turned to Hayner and grabbed his arm, pulling him to his feet, "This is our chance! Hayner, Pence, let's get a move on!"

"Right!" Aether made a move to follow the two boys back to the main part of town, but suddenly felt the wind get knocked out of her as two big Heartless hands wrapped around her.

Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, made no move to stop the boys, who didn't seem to realize that their New Heart friend wasn't following them. He addressed the Dusks that had shown up to save the kids, "I serve the Organization. This is treason." He paused. Silence, but the Dusks did not budge. "Hm. I see what is happening. Have it your way then."

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Olette had led Ansem the Wise to the sewers. They stopped once they felt they were safe in order to catch their breath. Hayner and Pence soon joined them.

"Are you guys okay?" Olette asked.

"Yeah, I think," Hayner replied as he and Pence caught their own breath.

"Yeah," Pence added. "Nobody knows the twists and turns of Twilight Town better than us."

"What about Aether?" Olette asked, quickly noting their missing fourth.

Hayner and Pence immediately glanced behind them. "What?!" Pence exclaimed. "She was right behind us!"

"She may have been taken by Xehanort," Ansem the Wise regretfully cut in. "She is a Princess of Heart, one of the seven they need. I'm afraid only the Guardians of Light have the power to get her back."

Hayner, Pence, and Olette hung their heads, sad that Aether was gone. Lea and Kairi, according to them, were the only two available for such a task.

"She'll be alright," Ansem the Wise reassured them. "They're not looking to kill her. They need her alive. But you three...you are Roxas' friends."

"That's right," Hayner replied. "So you know him, too?"

"Oh yes. Quite well."

Pence spoke up, "Guess it was worth staking out the old mansion after all, because this guy here is what I call a lead." He took out the photo of them and Roxas and showed it to Ansem.

"That's the only proof we have that Roxas was our friend," Olette explained. "And we also know about Namine."

"Tell us about them," Hayner asked. "We wanna know them better."

"Very well," Ansem agreed. "Though most of their pain is my fault." He then turned to the shadows. "Whoever you are, come on out."

"My dear master," another man in the same black coat stepped out from the shadows. "You are safe."

"Even, is that you?" Ansem the Wise apparently knew him. "So...those Nobodies were your doing." Four Dusks showed up behind Even, causing the three kids to cower in fear.

"Don't worry, you three," Even reassured Hayner, Pence, and Olette. "I do not wish to harm you." He then bowed to Ansem. "I have been waiting for this. Gave up a normal life in order to plant myself in the Organization. And when I heard Xehanort had gone looking for you, I realized it was my chance to find you as well. For you see, I, too, wish to atone."

Ansem simply stared at him.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Back at the mansion, Aether struggled against the Guardian's tight grip. There was no out and she was running out of breath.

"What do you want with me?" she asked Ansem, her captor.

"We need you to open the door."

That answer didn't explain a damn thing. Seeing as the answer she just got was cryptic and came from a man her instincts told her not to trust, she turned to the one holding her.

When the Guardian first appeared, she saw it as a big Heartless, but now that the two were officially meeting face to face, she saw a different appearance.

The appearance of a brunette-haired man, fully decked out for battle. Her True Sight was telling her that this was the Guardian's true form, and she could sense light in him – light that was being trapped by darkness.

"I know who you are," she told him, "who you _really_ are. You don't belong with them, so why are you doing this?"

Ansem, apparently, did not like her words, so he motioned the Guardian to tighten its grip enough to knock her out.

Aether felt her world go black, and that's all she saw until an orange light shown in the dark, turning into a stained glass window with an image of the man she saw. On the window, she saw Ven, a bald old man, a blue haired woman, and a black-haired man.

_**"Because I have no choice,"**_ Terra replied, seeing a red-colored Station of Awakening of the girl he was talking to. The two people on her Station were Uncle Scrooge, Remy, and Kairi. _**"My chains are too strong."**_

"You _do_ have a choice," Aether shot back. "The darkness only has a hold of you because _you_ are allowing it to. I can sense your light. I know it's there. So fight back!"

That was the last thing he heard, the last thing she said before she blacked out completely.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

**~Keyblade Graveyard~**

"What do you mean he's fighting back?" Xehanort asked Ansem, the remaining Seekers standing in a circle.

Ansem nodded to the pink-haired girl lying on the ground in the middle of the circle, "She sparked his hope, and jumpstarted his light once more. Soon, he will be uncontrollable."

"Speaking of _'uncontrollable'_," Saix spoke up, "what of Sora?"

Xemnas glanced down at the disoriented boy beside him, who was panting and breathing heavily. "The conditioning failed. All we've managed to succeed in doing is harming him physically." 

"Do you have young Namine's sketchbook?" Xehanort asked.

Ansem reached into the folds of his coat and pulled out the sketchbook that he had searched the entire mansion for. "Right here."

Vanitas asked, "You sure about this?"

Riku Replica cut in, "Since when do you care about morals, Vanitas? It's the only way to control him!"

Vanitas didn't take his eyes off of the dazed Sora as he shot back, "Of course I don't care about morals, you _idiot_. I care about negative emotions. If Sora becomes a blank slate, he won't feel anything. The more pain he's in, the more negative emotions I feel from him. The more negative emotions I feel, the stronger the Unversed are."

"To answer you, Vanitas," Xehanort spoke up, "yes, I'm sure. We _need_ him on our side."

Vanitas could only watch as Xehanort took Namine's notebook in his hands.

He felt a deep connection to Sora, the one who gave him his face, the one who prevented Ventus from dying – twice. Seeing Sora in so much pain brought back memories that didn't sit well with him.

This feeling...was this _sympathy_?

Was it because of sympathy that didn't want anything else to happen to Sora?

_Because Vanitas knew that once Xehanort completely erased Sora's memories, he'd lose __**all**__ of who he was._

**To Be Continued…**

**!~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~3~~R~E~W~R~I~T~E~~!**

A/N: Sorry that it's so long. While I love Kingdom Hearts, I just recently got into the fandom. _**So if I get anything wrong, I'm sorry. Please, no flaming. Instead, just politely inform me in a PM or review**_, so I can correct any mistake I make.

**FYI:** I would _love_ some feedback on Aether. No flames, please. Just tell me what you think and what I can do to improve her. And don't even think to add 'she's weak' or 'she can't fight', because she's not supposed to know how to fight yet. _**And no, Aether is not Subject X, before anybody asks (I have a theory that she's Skuld, because her theme – the stars – would line up perfectly with Isa and Lea's theme with the moon and sun, respectively; also, the theory that Ava is Kairi's grandmother is one that I have 100% gotten behind).**_

I'm really sorry that I'm torturing Sora so much in this story, but if this situation were to happen in canon, I believe that Sora would be fighting until his dying breath to keep himself connected to the light. He does have a strong heart, after all. Also, don't take Kairi telling Riku that "we can worry about Sora later" as her not caring. She does care, but she feels that as long as she can still sense some light in him, then Sora is not lost to them yet. _**Besides, we have some lost hearts to rescue before we rescue Sora.**_

Also, it never occurred to me until after watching Remy's origins movie ("Ratatouille") and reading the Kingdom Hearts TV tropes page, but now that I think about it, it makes perfect sense. Remy is a rat, and the only characters in the movie that refer to him as 'Remy' are rats, while all the humans refer to him 'Little Chef', because Remy can't talk to humans, hence why in the canon KH3 game, he's only known as 'Little Chef'. That being said, I will adhere to this logic in this story, which is why only Kairi and Aether (who are Princesses of Heart – who can talk to animals) refer to him as 'Remy'. If you're thinking this headcanon came out of nowhere, keep in mind that in this story, Kairi knows what Pluto's saying. In Lea's words in Chapter 2 (the Moana chapter): "Hey, Princess, you can talk to animals. Can you understand what this dog is saying?"

The fifth of the six New Hearts is _**Aether**_ from Twilight Town _**(and my OC)**_. _**Next World: Coco/Land of the Dead**_ (in honor of Halloween and Day of the Dead, however belated it may be).

Also, if anybody has any ideas or questions, or even suggestions about where to take the story next, please PM me.


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